2018 Audi A1 makes first public appearance at Paris motor show

Audi will take the fight to the hot-selling Mini with the new A1 Sportback, which will be packed with technology, safety kit and the brand’s latest premium features in a bid to make it the most generously equipped supermini on sale.

The second-generation A1 will arrive in November with the aim of drawing new and young customers to the Audi brand, and makes its first public outing to the Paris motor show. The outgoing A1 is Audi’s third-best-selling model in the UK. It has been a consistent seller for Audi across Europe, too, with annual sales in the region only once dipping below 90,000 units since it was launched in 2010. But with rivals such as the Mini achieving more than double that figure (it sold in 215,549 units last year), Audi has yet to tap into the full sales potential of this segment.

The new A1, the smallest model in Audi’s range, has been given a dose of sporting design, with nods to the brand’s Quattro rallying heritage, including a single-frame front grille and three flat bonnet slits that reference the original 1984 Sport Quattro.

Audi A1 designer Hurgen Loffler on why his car has gone 'to the gym'

Like its Volkswagen Group MQB A0 platform siblings, the VW Polo and Seat Ibiza, the new A1 comes exclusively in five-door form and has grown in size (it’s now four metres long) to increase cabin space, particularly in the rear, and add 65 litres of luggage capacity.

Next Audi S1 due with 250bhp in 2019

Power is provided by a choice of turbocharged TFSI petrol engines, with no diesel offered. There will be a 94bhp 1.0-litre three-pot and 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre four-cylinder units offering up to 197bhp.

A six-speed manual gearbox is standard, with a seven-speed S tronic automatic ’box optional. The most potent 197bhp model, the 40 TFSI, gets a six-speed S tronic transmission as standard.

Later, the A1 will be offered with a natural gas engine in mainland Europe, but not in the UK. A 250bhp all-wheel-drive S1 is due to arrive in 2019.

The new A1 can be specified with optional adaptive damping and top models are offered with firmer sports suspension.

As standard, the car gets a 10.25in all-digital instrument cluster and a multi-function steering wheel. With the exception of the entry-level model, A1s come with a centre console touchscreen of 8.8in or, in top models, 10.1in. These MMI systems feature touch-operated handwriting recognition technology taken from the range-topping A8. There’s also more advanced voice control technology.