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Audi Invited to Join VW’s New Small Family

The tiny city car (previewed by the Up! concepts) is just part of Audi’s new range of fuel misers.

IN 2007, VOLKSWAGEN PREVIEWED its New Small Family (NSF) of eco-cars with three concepts, a two-door hatchback, a four-door hatchback, and a microvan. Originally intended for VW, Seat, and Škoda only, NSF is being expanded to include an Audi version, the E1. In fact, the E1 will spearhead a selection of innovative, low-emissions, high-mileage models for Audi. Marketed under the E-line moniker, the new Audis share the same mission as BMW’s Project i vehicles. Audi’s lineup could include up to fi ve different products in various size and price classes. Here is what Audi’s R&D team is currently looking at: E1, based on the New Small Family (NSF).

Audi has been invited to tap the NSF gene pool, but the brand doesn’t want a badgeengineered model, so Audi will get a distinct body and interior. The most likely body style for Audi is a two-door, three-seat commuter hatchback. NSF can accommodate a small gasoline or diesel engine, but an electric vehicle is also considered a mid-term must. Because of its ultracompact dimensions, the two-door is not ideal for a hybrid application.

E2, a sporty mid-engine two-seater. This would be an Audi version of the even more radical VW two-liter car (as in two liters of fuel per 100 km, or 118 mpg). Volkswagen is preparing two closely related,  exceptionally frugal halo products that could infl uence the E2—the one-liter car (the second coming of

the cigar-shaped tandem two-seater fi rst seen in 2002) and the two-liter car (a more conventional design with driver and passenger sitting next to each other). Although the one-liter car is a very small-volume, expensive, high-tech showpiece, the two-liter edition is more practical and more affordable. For minimum aerodynamic drag and optimal packaging, a mid-engine layout is favored, with a pair of 75-hp, 1.2-liter three-cylinder units (an 80-lb-ft direct-injected unit and a 130-lb-ft turbo-diesel ) most likely. Electric drive is also possible but may add too much to the price

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