Audi A1 Launches on Friday

The smallest car in the Audi lineup, the A1, is putting on the good clothes as it prepares for the German market launch which will take place on Friday. From tomorrow onwards, the model will be available at Audi dealerships for test drives, with the rest of Europe to get the model by mid-September.

The apparent high demand for the model has prompted Audi into going for an increased production level for the new A1.

“Reports from our international dealers show us that interest in the A1 is exceeding our expectations considerably,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi member of the board for Marketing and Sales. “We will therefore increase our production capacity by 20 percent.”

As already announced, the A1 will wear a price tag of EUR15,800 for the entry level version. The A1 will be offered by Audi in two trim levels, Attraction and Ambition.

The vehicle will offer its customers a choice of three engines in the beginning, namely the entry-level 1.2 TFSI (86 hp/160 Nm), 1.4 TFSI (122 hp/200 Nm) and the 1.6 TDI (90 hp/230 Nm). Another version of this engine, developing 105 hp/250 Nm, will be added at a later date.

All units will be turbocharged, with the carmaker saying the engines in the A1 have a fuel economy of in between 3.8 and 5.4/100 km (43-61 mpg).

All four engines use Audi's modular efficiency platform to recover energy during the braking and coasting phases and store it temporarily in the battery. They also employ a start-stop system and seven-speed S tronic transmission with two clutches. A five-speed manual transmission is also being offered.