Audi RS4, A1, S5 and R8 V10 details

By Ben Pulman

Motor Industry

14 July 2008 12:25

The next Audi RS4 will be supercharged, the R8’s V10 will be naturally aspirated and we won’t be seeing an Audi that’s smaller than the A1 supermini any time soon. That’s all according to a high-placed Audi source that CAR sat down with at the recent Q5 4x4 launch. Read on for everything our source had to say about Audi’s secret new model programme.

Let’s start with the smallest car, the A1. It’s due in 2010 and will eventually be available as a convertible and off-roader, alongside the regular three- and five-door hatches.

Our source calls it Audi’s ‘Mini-killer’ but adamantly says the A1 will not have retro styling. It’ll share its platform with forthcoming Polo, which means the A1 uses the same underpinnings as the new Seat Ibiza. Which makes us think that Audi has some work to do if it wants to match the Mini dynamically...

Will there be anything smaller than an A1 in this oil-sensitive age? Apparently not. Audi has no plans for anything smaller than its supermini until at least 2013.

But the A3 range will grow; Audi is still expanding the A3 range, and next we'll see the Q3 based on the Cross Coupe Quattro concept.

Click 'Next' below to read about the supercharged RS4

By Ben Pulman