Audi A2 name to return on new electric hatchback

The Audi A2 name is set to return on the tailgate of a new electric hatchback that will sit below the Audi Q4 e-tron in terms of size and price in the German luxury marque’s lineup.

According to Autocar, the new electric hatch will replace the A1 hatchback and Q2 small SUV – both of which are scheduled to end production in 2026 – and be badged as the ‘Audi A2 e-tron’.

The automaker has not officially announced the new electric vehicle (EV), and there is no confirmation it will be offered in Australian showrooms following its expected 2027 European launch.

A heavily disguised test mule, thought to be the A2 e-tron, has been spied lapping the famous Nurburgring circuit in Germany on multiple occasions.

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Based on the same underpinnings as the Volkswagen ID.3 electric hatch – not sold in Australia – the A2 e-tron will not be a conventional hatchback, according to Autocar, instead blurring the lines between a hatch and a small SUV.

For the ID.3, the Volkswagen Group MEB platform – also used by the Cupra Born electric hatch and the Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5 mid-size electric SUVs – has a 400V electrical system and a single electric motor driving the rear wheels, with outputs ranging from 125kW up to 210kW for the GTX performance flagship.

Battery sizes in the ID.3 range between 58kWh and 79kWh, delivering up to 595km of WLTP driving range.

Start pricing for the born-again Audi A2 is suggested to be around £30,000 ($A58,500), or slightly more than the current Q2, which is priced from around £28,000 ($A54,680) in the UK, but significantly less than the larger Audi Q4 e-tron, which has a UK starting price of around £47,000 ($A91,784).

In Australia, the Q2 is currently priced from $49,400 before on-road costs, while the Q4 e-tron starts at $84,900 before on-roads.

The original Audi A2 was a cutting-edge, ultra-efficient urban hatch sold in Europe, with 176,377 made between 1999 and 2005, but it was never officially sold in Australia.

The diminutive hatch measured 3.83m long, 1.67m and 1.55m tall, and its wind-cheating aerodynamic body was made from weight-saving aluminium, making it one of several fuel-efficient city cars developed for the European market in its day.

Its 1.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel powered hatch achieved an official combined figure consumption figure of just 2.9L/100km, making the original A2 the most fuel-efficient five-door production car at the time. A 1.4-litre diesel was also offered, as well as 1.4- and 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engines.

Other efficiency-focused models at the time included the Volkswagen Lupo and, later, the wild-looking Volkswagen XL1 hypermiler – neither of which were sold in Australia – which was officially classed as a ‘one-litre’ car with claimed consumption of just 0.9L/100km.

A ‘one-litre’ research version of the first A2 was also developed, though it never entered production.

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