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Overview

The Audi A1, internally known as the Typ 8x, is a supermini car manufactured by the German automaker Audi AG. Audi introduced the A1 in 2010 and is still in production at Audi's plant in Brussels, Belgium. The Audi A1 is the successor of the Audi 50, built from 1974 to 1978, from then on the smallest car in the Audi range, until 2010, was the Audi A3. Like its predecessor, the A1 is available only in a three door body style; there are reports indicating that Audi is preparing a five door version of the A1 by the end of 2011.

Audi launched the A1 at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, and began to sell it in Germany from August 2010 and from November 2010 it was available in the United Kingdom. The car was built on Volkswagen Group PQ25 platform, on which there are also based the 4th generation Seat Ibiza and 5th generation VW Polo. Audi created the A1 to compete with the Alfa Romeo MiTo and the MINI, the car is aimed mostly to young people and affluent urban buyers.

Variants

The 2010 and 2011 Audi A1s are offered with three engines, all with four cylinders and in-line configuration and all mounted at the front of the car; of the three engines two are petrol powered and one is diesel powered. The entry level engine is the 1.2 TFSI that develops 84 hp @ 4800 rpm and a maximum 118 lb/ft of torque at 1500 rpm. The engine is available only with a five speed manual transmission that shifts the power from the engine to the front wheels. In terms of performance, the Audi A1 1.2 TFSI is good for a sprint from zero to 60 mph in 11.2 seconds and a quarter mile time from a standstill start of 17.9 seconds. As for the fuel consumption, the small engine returns an incredible 52.7 miles to the gallon (5.2 liter / 100 kilometers) on average.

Second engine in the petrol lineup is the 1.4 TFSI that develops 121 hp @ 5000 rpm and 147 torques available from as low as 1500 rpm. The engine is available with three gearboxes, a six speed manual, a seven speed S-tronic automatic and a seven speed S-tronic 119 g/km (grams of CO2 / kilometer). The performances of the A1 1.4 TFSI are very good being able to reach 60 mph from zero in 8.9 seconds (with either of the gearboxes) and cover a quarter of a mile in 16.4 sec (again with either of the gearboxes). The fuel economy is also very good, returning an average of 44.3 mpg / 45.2 mpg (6MT & 7AT / 7AT 119g/km).

The diesel in the engine lineup has a 1.6 liter displacement and develops a total of 105 hp @ 4400 rpm and a maximum torque of 184 lb/ft @ 1500 rpm. The engine is available only with the 5 speed manual transmission. The performances of the diesel A1 are fair, the car can get to 60 mph from stand in a little over 10 seconds and do a quarter mile time of 16.8 seconds. In the fuel economy area is were this engine shines, returning an average of 60.3 miles to the gallon (3.9 liter per 100 kilometers).

Audi offers the A1 in three trims: SE, Sport and S-line. The most basic of them is the SE and includes: driver and front passenger seats with manual height, forwards and backwards adjustment, easy-entry front seats, split folding rear seats, ‘Zeitgeist' cloth upholstery, 6.5" display screen - manually retractable AUX-IN socket, concert radio/single cd player with mp3 file compatibility, 6 speakers in front and rear
and 2 tweeters, SD memory card reader, driver and front passenger front and side airbags and front and rear head airbags. The second trim, Sport, adds: 3-spoke leather Sports multi-function steering wheel with aluminium inlay, Driver's Information System and Front Sports seats with manually adjustable lumbar support. Top of the line, S-line trims, includes the Sport trim plus: Black ‘Sprint' leather upholstery with embossed S line logo in front seats, 3-spoke leather Sports multi-function steering wheel with aluminium inlay,
S line badging and perforated leather trim and S line badges on the front wings, radiator grille, side skirts and rear bumper.

Additional Information

The Audi A1, 1.4 TFSI Sport version received the "Car of the Year 2011" by the British What Car magazine.

The Audi A1 was promoted by a series of videos entitled "The Next Big Thing". The series consisted of six episodes, available to be views online, staring Justin Timberlake, each episode is around 3 minutes long and shorter version of them are features as TV commercials worldwide.