Audi is planning a renewed attack on the premium small car ranks with a replacement for its slow-selling A2. The new car, tentatively codenamed Au250, is set to ditch the costly aluminium space frame of the current A2 for Polo-based steel unitary body construction. Ingolstadt top brass indicate that this will allow it to forge ahead with a number of body styles, including hatchback, coupé and convertible variants.
‘The successor to the A2 is not yet completely finalised, but it will almost certainly adopt conventional construction,’ a high ranking Audi official told Autocar, adding, ‘our current method provides a suitable hi-tech image but it is extremely costly to produce.’
Until now Audi has been non-committal on a follow-up to the A2 since announcing that production of the first-generation model was to end this August. But with sales of premium small cars – such as BMW’s Mini – on the rise across Europe it appears plans for a replacement have now been accelerated. The best indications are for the launch of the new model in late 2007.
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