New A2 Concept Photos

Skipton01 said:
It's not really a case of being ground-breaking for the sake of it Murdi - it is (or was) the ethos of what Audi was all about...
Click to expand...

As in, you haven't already given up the idea that Audi can be back to form when they did TT and A2? I've seen enough and gave up that idea way before the 'new A2'.

Just one point to make, i think the end game is moving away from fossil fuel. Electric is the only realistic near term alternative. But this is a huge ask to get to same level of weight, distance and convenience in the same package of IC engine cars, let alone wanting something even lighter, travels further and refuels just as quickly and easy. Electricity storage carries all the energy (at least currently), IC engine cars don't carry oxygen in the fuel tank, before energy density advantage ...etc. It is inevitable people are comparing them because they are cars afterall and in this case, new vs old A2. And I don't doubt for 1 sec li-ion electric A2 will be heavier, travels less distance and takes long to refuel. But I have already resigned to moving on from fossil fuel and look at these in their own class and that causes me a lot less disappointments!

I only wanted to throw rubbish away, there is an easy way, dig a hole, burn it all, dump it all there. Why do I have to separate organic, recyclables and general waste? It is less convenient, it takes longer and even takes up more space in my house! But the end game is different, isn't it? This is leading to a electric vs fossil fuel debate and how electricity is generated, which is quite off topic. I believe electric is the future, but it still needs to satisfy my needs and if it means I have to trade off a few things, so be it. After all, I now have 3 bins in my house for general, organic and recyclables and I live fine and going to bed thinking I've done my bit :)
 
this is beginning to read a bit like the threads on Forums when MGRover went bust. 'Bring back the ZR/ZS/ZT etc because i would buy one'! Total rollocks. The vast majority of car buyers are NOT car enthusiasts and even less are members of forums like this. I do not disagree with some of Mikes views (especially regarding range, accommodation etc) but the original a2 opened up a whole new sector which can never be repeated once that secor is addressed. The most significant tecnological aspect of the Ur A2 is the body/shell. The most significant design feature was the pacakaging, the likes of which may never be repeated given safety requirements etc which were not around in the late 90's. Everything else on the car had been done before and in the most part used components from the corporate parts bin. I cannot recall the original concepts in sufficient detail (seem to recall a pick-up style at one stage) but imagine they too had features which never saw the production line. 'Our' A2 is well known for being a commercial flop although I suspect even Audi must now kick themselves for pulling the plug when they did. Another 12 months production would probably have seen the car start to become commercially viable, especially given a facelift/body makeover. Audi will not make that mistake again and the new a2 will be designed to sell which will mean buyers new to the marque and probably very few owners on here. I doubt Audi shareholders will loose too much sleep however disapointed we may be. Personally it looks to me as though the 5 door Up! may be more of a true A2 successor in terms of packaging and original thinking...

For what its worth I think it looks OK, not ground breaking but OK and will be interested to see how it will progress. I am not sure what some of you were expecting but like the original a2 it is a small car which uses all the key Audi design language of the day.
 
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Personally I rather like it, inside and out - a great mix of Ur A2 and future Audi design "language". and I would fully expect a production model to have a range-extender to make it more appealing to a wider range of drivers rather than pure battery electric. If you took away the 300Kg of the Lithium battery pack that brings the car down to below 800Kg so there is clearly some good weight-saving tech in there. Don't forget the Nissan Leaf weighs in at 1900Kg and will have a shorter range and looks utterly pig ugly...

Ideas like 100% drive-by-wire is also an interesting tech - that would presumably enable mechanical packaging to be much more optimised and allow for an easier (therefore cheaper) production of LHD and RHD models. If those graphite carbon foam radiators make it to production that would be very cool (pun intended!).

I think as a concept statement this is an exciting piece of kit and I shall be keeping a close eye on its development.
 
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It looks that this time Audi didn't follow the A1 easy way (take a VW, little changes - big profits) - good start !
Front and rear ends look nice. The side design is too "shoe box". I prefer the roof line of our A2. Same for the side windows, A & B pillars...
I'm sure that the drivetrain will be up to our expectations, or at least ahead of its competitors.
I hope that the way it drives (comfort, handling) will be a big improvement over our A2's.
Don't talk me about FSD's, etc. The result is still under average standards. Period. For me it's THE big negative point of the A2. Price ? well, had the A2 been perfect, price would have been less an issue.
 
and don't forget Audi is not calling it a concept, it is a 'concept study'. Which I take is even less production like than a concept!
 
Hmmm, that interior is fecking awful - like some bad piece of sci-fi design rejected by Buck Rogers!

Looks like my money won't be going on a new A2 then, when the time comes to take the load off Tank altogether.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Interesting letter from a long time A2 owner in this weeks Autocar (anyone on here?)...... basically saying the Ur A2 was the future 10 years ago, whereas the new one doesn't move the game forward very much. I understand the view but i think people are confused as to what they want. Do you want a replacement for the A2 which simply replicates all the features we are used to or do you want a new ground breaking concept (in which case it won't be an A2, or will it?)..... My answer is yes and yes! and i suspect most reading this thread do too.... aren't we a fickle lot! No wonder car manufacturers get it wrong when they design cars solely from the results of surveys.....

I remember driving a left hook A2 at Milbrook around 1999 at an invite only driving day for a raft of new Audis including the Alroad (very impressed) and decided one day i would own an A2.... In 1999 it was simply a breath of fresh air yet still very much an Audi with very clear styling links to the TT and even the old Audi 100 aero Avant.
 
Wow, thanks for providing those YouTube videos...

I like the interior: light, bright, and refreshing. Not sure about the grill / four rings arrangement and the front lamps and tail lamps arrangement - the pushed in look doesn't work for me. The lights down the side are cool.
 
Mike aka Skipton makes very valid points. The biggest of which is space and practicality.This concept is tiny inside at the rear looks like less luggage room than a Mini. All the interior depth of the original is now packed with batteries. There are serious safety issues with pax bags in the footwells especially at the front.

As for the electric idea I think at present rate we will see serious improvements to battery range and weight over next 5 years. Environmentally though I see this as a transfer of pollution to power stations and battery recycling plants as well as major Eco issues in mining Li in Bolivia. Shame packaging isn't as good as l
loremo.

BMW i3 seems main reason for this concept.
 
Until we see a serious improvement in the price of batteries electric cars of any type will remain the preserve of the extreme greenies. Bosch were quoted last week as saying the price is not falling as fast or low as predicted and they are now questioning the commercial viability of battery electric propulsion in its current form.
 
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