Audi has just announced a multimillion investment to adapt the VAG group's plant in Forest, near Brussels, Belgium to produce the A1. The Brussels plant will be producing a single model for the first time in its history. The site previously played a supporting role for the Volkswagen Group.

After the initial €100 million investment, the Ingolstadt firm is adding a similar quantity to finish equipping the body shop, paint shop and assembly plant. One notable aspect is that plant workers are being specifically trained in electronics. Audi states that the A1 "with its next-generation electronics represents a challenge" for the plant. Is this a hint at a hybrid version? We don't know, but what is certain is that Audi will use the latest iteration of its TFSI (gasoline) and TDI (diesel) engines in the A1. Audi expects more than 100,000 A1s to roll off the assembly lines in 2010. Full press release after the jump.

A production version of Audi's new A1 mini-car will be arriving in late 2009 and Audi CEO Rupert Stadler would like to see it exported to the US. The VW Golf-based A3 hasn't been a roaring success here but as gas prices continue to rise, Stadler thinks the market will shift and he wants his brand to be ready to cash in. In order for the A1 to be viable with the steadily falling US dollar, the company will have to keep costs to a minimum. One alternative would be to build the A1 in the US and with Volkswagen studying locations for a US assembly plant that may be a possibility.

[Source: AutoWeek, via Autoblog]

Back on the 19th of October, we showed you some leaked pictures of the Audi A1 metroproject concept that would be shown in Tokyo. Well, here it is in all it's un-rendered glory. The all-wheel-drive configuration was confirmed with Audi's excellent TSI turbocharged and supercharged engine powering the front wheels along with an electric motor at the rear. A lithium ion battery pack powers the 41 horsepower motor out back. Many commuters could perform their daily drive without ever needing to run the engine, but if they do, they'd be rewarded with 48 miles per gallon.

As always, looks are subjective and beauty is in the eye of the beholder... but I'm sure we can all agree that this is one distinctive car. The overall size of the machine might allow it to be cross-shopped with other upmarket small cars like the Mini and the new Fiat 500 while the size of the front grill might seem more akin to a Dodge Ram.

All live photos ©2007 Siddharth Raja / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Autoblog]

Click on the A1 concept to enlarge

Over the past couple of months, we've seen numerous rendered images of what the upcoming Audi A1 would look like and now we finally have the real thing. The A1 Metroproject Quattro is a concept that will appear next week at the Tokyo Motor Show previewing the production A1. This smallest Audi has a nose dominated by a grille that looks like it's sized for the big Q7 V-12 TDI. Propulsion comes from the 150hp 1.4L TFSI four cylinder that appears in several other VW group cars.

Power from the engine goes to the front wheels by way of a dual clutch gearbox. To earn the Quattro badge, the rear wheels are propelled by a 41 hp electric motor. The electrons required to get 200 Nm of torque out of that motor are stored in a lithium ion battery pack. The A1 has plug-in capability and can reportedly go 60 miles in pure electric mode. The 12.8 foot long A1 is rated at 48 mpg and has CO2 emissions of 112 g/km. The production A1 should arrive in 2009.

[Source: MotorAuthority]

A concept version of Audi's new A1 mini-car is still expected to be on the company's stand at the Tokyo Motor Show next month but a mule of the new car has been spotted testing near the Nurburgring. The test vehicle is based on a modified VW Polo. However the car is wearing Ingolstadt license plates, which is where Audi is based. To keep the cost of the new baby Audi down, its platform will be shared with the next generation A3 and other VW group models. This should help the price down below the Mini with a jumping off point of about €16,000. Direct injected 1.4L gas engines ranging from 65-170 hp and 1.6L diesels from 75-130hp should be under hood with some ultra-low CO2 models being part of the mix.

[Source: CAR]

German magazine Auto Motor und Sport has published some renderings of the concept version of the Audi A1 which should debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in October. Unlike the last small Audi, the A2, which used a unique aluminum platform and proved to be both expensive and slow selling, the A1 shares hardware with the VW Polo and Skoda Fabia.

At least one powertrain combination in the 2,400 lb A1 should be the 1.4L TSI four cylinder with a seven-speed DSG gearbox and a new type of all-wheel-drive system. Other variants should have CO2 emissions that dip well below 120g/km. The new A1 will be built at the Brussels, Belgium plant that Audi recently took over from parent Volkswagen starting for 2010. Hopefully, one of these days, Audi will move beyond that mammoth grille that just looks absurd on this little car.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport]