March 26, 2021

Audi A2: An icon ahead of its time

For a machine that supposedly evolved from the creative brief "Transport iv people from Stuttgart to Milan on a single tank of petrol", in that location is a lot more to the Audi A2 than the miles per gallon achieved.

Steve Birchall is our latest contributor to choose a Volkswagen Group Icon. For the twenty-four hours task, he works as a computer consultant, simply out of hours, Steve is happily swapping megabytes for modifying as he puts the work in on his love Audi A2, our latest Group Icon.

Every bit a car modifier for almost fifty years, Steve has worked on a variety of projects. They include a London blackness cab, to which he added an 8.2 litre V8 engine, merely it's his passion for the Audi A2 TDI that really turbocharges his interest.

For a car that supposedly evolved from the creative brief "Send four people from Stuttgart to Milan on a single tank of petrol", in that location is a lot more to the Audi A2 than the miles per gallon (mpg) achieved.

The A2 does indeed boast some impressive fuel efficiency stats – a 140mpg all-time on the one.ii version and 60mpg boilerplate for the TDI version – but that tells only a fraction of the story of this small car with a large reputation for innovation.

It fabricated its debut as a concept car at the Frankfurt Motor Evidence in 1997, the first time Audi fabricated public their plans to launch an aluminium-bodied model for the supermini segment. The decision was a bold move, with the A2 but the second model at the time later on the A8 to exist congenital based on Audi's revolutionary infinite frame blueprint.

Steve said: "The A2 is a phenomenal motorcar, so much so that we have 7 of them in our immediate family. They are very special and and so much fun to bulldoze. The A2 I bought for my 17-year sometime grandson has 232,000 miles just it runs as well as any of the depression mileage ones we have. It'due south incredible to think they kickoff came off the product line over 20 years agone and hither we are now all still enjoying the benefits."

The A2 was produced at Audi's "aluminium" Neckarsulm plant in Germany on a special line purpose congenital for information technology. Audi was the first manufacturer to try to incorporate
lightweight edifice concepts using aluminium and associated alloys into a "mass market place" vehicle.

Aslope the A2'due south revolutionary aluminium frame and dandy mpg stats, the one.2 version was the first auto to be launched with an eco-way. The Audi A2 1.two TDI version had the everyman drag co-efficient for any car at the fourth dimension of its launch. And the roll call of innovation doesn't end there.

Moving away from the engine and into the vehicle'south interior, in that location is innovation in space efficiency and all-round roominess that would put the Tardis to shame.

Steve adds: "The A2 really is like the Tardis, it's unbelievable how much interior space they take. At times, you lot think you could get a couple of washing machines in in that location! They are so practical and information technology's part of the entreatment of them."

The interior of the Audi A2 is a magic box of innovative design features that help to make information technology ane of the virtually space-efficient vehicles of all fourth dimension. It has a very large interior space relative to its exterior dimensions, including a boot with 390 litres (xiii.8 cu ft) of space that is significantly larger than the luggage infinite of the next model in Audi's range, the A3.

The boot was in fact a double (false) floor boot, where items could be hidden from thieves or where the space saver spare wheel could exist stored. An innovative infinite floor storage organisation also included a box that slotted in the rear passenger foot well, a rear cup holder which unclipped, and a toolkit, which depending on equipment, was stored next to the battery.

Some other unusual design feature, situated at the forepart of the car, was the "Serviceklappe" or translated into English, the "service console". A key characteristic of early models, this was a black panel located at the lower edge of the bonnet, with filling points for oil and screen wash fluid and the dipstick, that helped reduce the number of times the bonnet had to exist raised. It's the kind of standout feature that marked the A2 out from other models and helped to eventually seal its iconic status.

Despite its reputation for innovation, the Audi A2 was not a huge market success and as a result its production run ended in 2005. Since and so the Audi A2, particularly those early on models, has seen rapidly diminishing numbers, with the auto now living on through defended enthusiasts similar Steve and his fellow A2 order members. For more information on the club visit www.a2oc.net.

Steve adds: "At that place is a existent sense of community with the A2 members' social club. It's non almost ego or showing off the most powerful machine, information technology's all about people who have a passion for their cars and love to drive them. With so many enthusiasts at present driving them, they really are on the cusp of being a mod archetype and are truly deserving of that condition."

Overall, the A2 remains remarkably fresh for a auto inbound its third decade. It proved that pocket-size cars could be radical and different, pushing the boundaries of design innovation to a level that marked it out every bit a vehicle manner ahead of its time.

Its reputation for innovation makes it truly deserving of its identify in the Hall of Fame. A small car with big tyre tracks to fill for those seeking to achieve similar iconic condition in the time to come.