The Audi A2 nameplate is making a comeback at the Frankfurt show later this month, albeit strictly in concept car form as these official sketches reveal.
While the name is not familiar to South Africans, Audi did sell a somewhat innovative and practical aluminium-bodied car called the A2 in Europe early last decade, but its high price stymied success in the highly competitive premium small car market.
This concept does not appear to signal a direct successor to that A2. Firstly, and rather confusingly, this A2 concept is actually smaller than the current A1 - suppose confusion is better than a silly name like A0.5 - and it's motivated by a powerful fully-electric powertrain, of which Audi has not disclosed any details as yet.
There's nothing overly unique about the design of this vehicle, the front end resembling the A1 and the side profile conveying more than a few hints of VW's Polo. In what sounds like Merc's SLK innovation, the dark glass roof can become transparent at the touch of a button.
The A2's innovative headlights are what Audi calls the next phase in LED technology. The 'matrix beam', as it's dubbed, is a package of LEDs and microreflectors that generate a high-resolution and non-glaring high-beam light. Meanwhile, smart taillights alter their illumination to the prevailing visibility conditions and the rear foglights use laser diodes to project a red triangle onto the road as a warning.
Despite its minute dimensions (it measures just 3.8 metres in length) the A2 concept makes clever use of space with design features like a flat interior floorboard. Occupants are welcomed by four individual seats, with the centre console fixed to the driver's seat and the rear console extending forward between the two back seats.
The driver-centric cockpit area incorporates touch controls for the key features on the inside of the steering wheel, while two extra control surfaces fold out on the driver's right-hand side when the vehicle is started. The steering column is an open profile and a seven-inch display screen and two secondary displays are positioned at its end.