Photo: SB-Medien
Audi already has drummed up support for the brand new S1 hot hatch, the first car of this type to ever get the "S" badge and quattro all-wheel drive. However, that performance flagship is only the tip of the iceberg that's about to reveal itself.
As you can see, Audi engineers are trying to cover up yet another Audi A1 prototype with heavy camo and this time it's not a flagship. The photos actually show the facelift that's coming to the regular range.
Having made its production debut in 2010 the Audi A1 is in need of a facelift, just like the VW Polo it shares its platform with. And just like the Polo gets its new looks from the bigger Golf, so too will this car get its cosmetics from the A3.
Changes are going to be very subtle. At the front, we see the same new headlight shape installed on the S1, a tweaked grille with smaller bars, square fog lights and small differences in the lower bumper.
But the cosmetic touches are really small in comparison to the ones made to the engine range. Here's what we think will happen. The 1.2 TFSI and 1.4 TFSI will still be there, but they will be much more efficient. All signs point towards the 1.5 TFSI with 140 PS betting boosted to 150 PS and the twin-charger 185 PS unit being replaced by a 1.8-liter making 192 PS or more.
On the diesel front, Volkswagen has just announced a new 1.4 TDI which might or might not replace the 1.6. But the bigger 2.0 TDI is likely here to stay, albeit with a bit more power, 150 PS and 350 PS instead of 143 PS and 320 Nm to be precise.
Here's where things really get interesting! Volkswagen has officially admitted that it will put a Polo plug-in hybrid into production for 2015. That tech is going to be based on the Polo GTE, which in turn is based on the Audi A3 e-tron. Simply put, there's a 90% chance the A1 e-tron is going into production.
The German automaker has worked with the idea of a small plug-in car through a trial series of A1 cars. Last year, they announced an updated version with 115 PS and 300 N of torque 80 prototypes have been built and Audi expects to collect 1 million kilometers or about 600,000 miles worth of data. Each car has an electric range of 50 km in ideal conditions, thanks to a T-shaped battery which provides 13.3 kWh of electricity. To deal with the problem of range anxiety, the A1 e-tron is also fitted with a small 32 PS rotary engine that acts as a generator. Hopefully, a better setup with more range is found for the actual production cars.
Having made its production debut in 2010 the Audi A1 is in need of a facelift, just like the VW Polo it shares its platform with. And just like the Polo gets its new looks from the bigger Golf, so too will this car get its cosmetics from the A3.
Changes are going to be very subtle. At the front, we see the same new headlight shape installed on the S1, a tweaked grille with smaller bars, square fog lights and small differences in the lower bumper.
But the cosmetic touches are really small in comparison to the ones made to the engine range. Here's what we think will happen. The 1.2 TFSI and 1.4 TFSI will still be there, but they will be much more efficient. All signs point towards the 1.5 TFSI with 140 PS betting boosted to 150 PS and the twin-charger 185 PS unit being replaced by a 1.8-liter making 192 PS or more.
On the diesel front, Volkswagen has just announced a new 1.4 TDI which might or might not replace the 1.6. But the bigger 2.0 TDI is likely here to stay, albeit with a bit more power, 150 PS and 350 PS instead of 143 PS and 320 Nm to be precise.
The German automaker has worked with the idea of a small plug-in car through a trial series of A1 cars. Last year, they announced an updated version with 115 PS and 300 N of torque 80 prototypes have been built and Audi expects to collect 1 million kilometers or about 600,000 miles worth of data. Each car has an electric range of 50 km in ideal conditions, thanks to a T-shaped battery which provides 13.3 kWh of electricity. To deal with the problem of range anxiety, the A1 e-tron is also fitted with a small 32 PS rotary engine that acts as a generator. Hopefully, a better setup with more range is found for the actual production cars.
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