Photo: SB-Medien
Audi is making the car that nobody asked for. These are the first spyshots of the jacked up version of its new A1 Sportback, believed to be called the A1 City Carver.
Back in the early 2010's, whenever a new Audi came out, people would render a shooting brake 3-door or an "allroad quattro" version. Of course, the German automaker never put any of them into production because they are silly and wouldn't sell.
Despite that, the A1 City Carver has been spied just a few months after the debut of its base supermini version. This suggests that the market case existed long before this, even though we can't imagine this car selling in high volumes.
Volkswagen has the right idea. It made a jacked up version of the Polo called the T-Cross. It's front-wheel-drive, but looks like a real SUV and has a more practical body. But the A1 City Carver doesn't tick any of those boxes. It's just a bit easier to get into thanks to taller seats. And to begin with, the A1 isn't built as a practical car, so it will struggle with only one large market: Europe.
A few angular attachments here, some flared out wheel arches, raised suspension - you have a rival for the Ford Fiesta Active. We've heard that Audi has one weird innovation planned: brown or grey plastic cladding instead of black.
The A1 City Carver is not a real allroad because it won't have AWD, something demonstrated by the lack of rear pro shafts in our spyshots. The engine range will thus be the same as the standard A1, consisting of 1-liter, 1.5-liter, and 2-liter turbocharged gasoline units. Audi is saying no to TDI right now, but if they approved this bad boy, diesel can't be ruled out entirely. Also, a CNG-compatible model makes sense.
The A1 City Carver will launch in 2019 and cost at least €1,000 more than the regular A1, which is already the most expensive model in this segment. Stay tuned for more revealing spyshots!
Despite that, the A1 City Carver has been spied just a few months after the debut of its base supermini version. This suggests that the market case existed long before this, even though we can't imagine this car selling in high volumes.
Volkswagen has the right idea. It made a jacked up version of the Polo called the T-Cross. It's front-wheel-drive, but looks like a real SUV and has a more practical body. But the A1 City Carver doesn't tick any of those boxes. It's just a bit easier to get into thanks to taller seats. And to begin with, the A1 isn't built as a practical car, so it will struggle with only one large market: Europe.
A few angular attachments here, some flared out wheel arches, raised suspension - you have a rival for the Ford Fiesta Active. We've heard that Audi has one weird innovation planned: brown or grey plastic cladding instead of black.
The A1 City Carver is not a real allroad because it won't have AWD, something demonstrated by the lack of rear pro shafts in our spyshots. The engine range will thus be the same as the standard A1, consisting of 1-liter, 1.5-liter, and 2-liter turbocharged gasoline units. Audi is saying no to TDI right now, but if they approved this bad boy, diesel can't be ruled out entirely. Also, a CNG-compatible model makes sense.
The A1 City Carver will launch in 2019 and cost at least €1,000 more than the regular A1, which is already the most expensive model in this segment. Stay tuned for more revealing spyshots!
Google News