Audi Launches First A1 Salvo At Mini Early 2010

Better looking and better interior but we have to wait till the numbers rise.

I like it but I would only get it in red....BMW/Mini will need to step their game up in the design department but we will see how many mini owners will revert to an Audi. I think this will do just as well as the mini

This car will be perhaps the most important model for Audi along with the A4 in its quest to overthrow BMW as the world's best selling premium brand.

With the usual Audi interior bliss, sharp exterior styling, and good fuel economy - I believe this car will be a big reason why Audi overthrows BMW in 2015 as the world's best selling premium auto manufacturer.

interior bliss lol, your posts are useless because they are so bias. Audi can turn what looks like and is a low end VW with a big grill and silver roof into a would be Mini competitor but Mini has a cult following not because it is a cheap BMW but because it is something special just like with the 500 or MiTo. This just an attempt for Audi to have a cheap volume car and it lacks the style of the mini.

Alright MINI/BMW, now its time to one-up Audi because this car looks great and has the potential to outsell the MINI and that just can't happen. LET'S MOTOR MINI!

I'm not sure if Audi can do it.One reason BMW can do it and Fiat can do it is because Mini and Fiat 500 are icons in automotive history. The A1 has no history. The other problem is you already have a VW Golf and VW Polo. I really think this is an overlapping of product. It is probably the reason Audi will not sell it here in the US.

Mini22, I agree that the Mini and Fiat 500 are icons. But they are icons from the past and there are some people, like me, who are not into homages at all. I wouldn't be seen dead in one, in fact. The key for Audi to succeed with this car is to create a new icon, like they did with the TT and for that to happen, it will have to look, as much as possible, like the concept. We know the rims will not be as big as the concept's and the interior will be more standard, but if they skimp on any of the exterior details--like get rid of the aluminum-look pillars or give it a less aggressive stance) they will have only succeeded in creating another boring small car.

Agree with AlleVier, who cares about the past when buying a new car. just because Mini came before the A1 does not make it a better car. Audi's styling, interior quality leaves the Mini and Fiat in the dust. history has proven that retro cars are fads that last so long. This is the case with the Mini. Now that it will have a competitor we'll see how "Cult-like" their customers really are. The era of "Cults" and loyalty are way gone. Today's buyer wants quality, styling and performance NOW.

bmwdrvr and mini22, yes, the MINI and Fiat 500 are both automotive icons, but why do you think Audi won't be able to compete with these aged icons?

In fact, Audi has direct experience in dealing with automotive icons in certain segments and competing very competitively with them.

Does the Porsche 911 ring a bell at all???? We are talking about the definitive everyday sportscar that has been out since the 1950s and nobody has had an answer to it. Not BMW, not Mercedes, not Maserati, not Jaguar...NO one, except Audi and its R8.

Customers have proven that if you create a car that looks good, drives well, and offers good value, they will buy them just like they did with the Audi R8.

I believe Audi could very well have another icon of its own with the A1.

What on earth are you talking about? The Porsche 911 has had many competitors over the years from BMW or Mercedes or Jaguar but with a different focus. In the 1950s the 507 from BMW and the iconic MB 300SL Gullwing competed with the Porsche Speedsters etc. Whereas Porsche focused on sport, the 507 and 300SL were more cruiser GT's with sporty pretensions. Even today an XK, SL or a 6er from BMW still compete with a Porsche 911 - again with a different focus.

Get your facts right.

Willis, unfortunately GermanNut is right. None of the cars you mentioned are sports cars as is the 911. You can argue all you want but at best any of those cars is just a GT Tourer, by definition fast and comfortable but hardly a comparison with a purpose built road race car like the 911.

Really, by adding "...with a different focus..." you are disqualifying any argument you have and clearly that is because you are trying to mask the facts, that is comparing a GT to a Sports Car. Not gonna happen.

Looks like a candidate for a Disney Pixar car (start by putting a a few buck teeth in that huge grill).

MeanVulcan said it perfectly. Willis is comparing GTs such as the BMW 6-series, Jaguar XK, and Mercedes-Benz SL to the Porsche 911, A PURE-BRED SPORTSCAR.

Sure, you can get a BMW M6, Jaguar XKR, and Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG to get some more ponies under your foot and to compete more favorably with Porsche's 911 C4S and Turbo variants, but at the end of the day you are SIMPLY GETTING A KICKED-UP VERSION OF A GT CAR.

The base models which the M6, XKR, and SL63 AMG are based on are NOT meant to be road-crushing, flick-of-the-wrist, lithe, and agile sporting machines that make you feel like god on the racetrack.

Porsche's 911, on the other hand, was designed to be the car that gave you the god-like feeling on the racetrack, and it certainly achieved its goal.

Only Audi's R8, with its thumping 420 horsepower V8, or extra-potent 510 horsepower V10, in mid-engine layout (which is precisely the reason why it competes so well with Porsche's 911) was the car that routinely defeated all different variants of Porsche's heralded 911 icon from the base 911, to the 911 C4S, and even up to the 911 Turbo.

Audi has proven with it's R8 that it is capable of creating a direct competitor to the Porsche 911, one of the automotive world's most cherished icons. With the R8 Audi didn't just come close to matching the Porsche 911, it beat it - many, many times.

Look for Audi to use its brilliant sense of exterior styling, interior design, fuel efficiency, emissions, driving dynamics, and price to show the MINI and Fiat 500 how modern interpretations of an aged concept can very well show the icon who the new boss in town is.