Audi has become the focal point brand of Volkswagen in the United States. The company has a stated goal of overcoming BMW and Mercedes in the market for luxury automobiles. Now Audi is considering taking aim at an entirely different part of the market in America ? the sporty subcompact. Ask any American about the cars offered by Audi and they?ll bring up the series of sedans starting with the A4. This raises the rather logical question of why Audi started the models at A4? What about A1, 2 and 3? Well, there is actually a legitimate answer. Audi actually made an A2 model that was released in Europe for a number of years. It was tiny, but not exactly appealing from a visual standpoint. It was never released in the United States because the company didn?t think there was a viable market. The Mini Cooper proved that wrong. The A1 has long been a car on the design table, but never in the showroom. No longer. It is set to go to production in 2010. The car is considered an ?adult? Mini Cooper. It is roughly the same size, but has more of the rounded off styling features found on the A4. The primary design difference is the A1 is a hatchback that has a passing resemblance not to a Mini Cooper, but to a MazdaSpeed 3. The car is going to be built in Brussels, Belgium. Current design specifications call for a host of engine options including normally aspirated, turbo and diesel options. Launch date is currently set for March 2010. So, can Audi challenge the Mini Cooper in the sport subcompact market? It is difficult to say. Audi is coming very late to the party. Not only does it have to deal with the Mini Cooper, but a host of other great small cars offered by Subaru, Mazda and the like. Audi will definitely make its mark, but there is nothing about the engine offering of the A1 that suggests it will offer better performance than anything currently on the market. With nothing to set it above the competition, it is hard to see Audi winning this battle. From Business Articles Directory
Thanks for the pics. Helped me get a good visual. The thing that the Mini had when brought back to life in 2202 was styling that was unmatched by any other manufacturer. At least in US. Not to argue the merits, but it did not look like any other car out there. I can not say the same for that Audi.
You think their engine choice will have chain driven cam/cam's? My buddy's Audi cam belt crapped out, what a pain in the butt to fix not to mention the cost of parts. If they could hold the car weight down to 20% less than a MINI make it 4wd on the fly with 30% more HP, maybe just maybe.
I imagine that it will be very tempting to some potential MINI buyers if the mini Audi comes with the Quattro option. Pricey, yes, but tempting. I just bought a MINI in the last month, after my Audi allroad nearly put me in the poorhouse. One of the cars that I seriously considered along with the MINI was the A3 because I was still partial to the Quattro. In the end, my horrendous Audi experience pushed me to try something completely new (I'd been an Audi/VW driver exclusively for nearly 25 years). Very, very happy with my MINI, and surprised that anything could lure me away so completely. Best of luck to Audi in their pursuit of MINI, nonetheless
I know in Europe Audi is a full line automaker but if they're going to try and overtake BMW and Mercedes in the US they should probably focus on keeping market status up and leave the fun, hot hatches to VW. Where's my Polo GTi? And if Audi does bring this to the US it will be more of a threat to the Volvo C30 than the MINI.
Wow, that looks an awful lot like a Subaru to me. Don't see MINI lovers wanting that. We are our own "unique" breed :rolleyes5:
You'd be surprised... not all Mini buyers buy for the same reasons. I welcome the Audi to the fight, and hope that they make a good car. The 4 door will probably be very, very competitive (smaller, maybe cheaper) than the R60. I've seen photos of a three door as well. The more the marrier! Matt