It doesnt get any better than Audi

bring it.

It better look “euro-cute”, or “novel”. I think that’s one of the appeals of the mini.

Will it ever reach the US? Smallest Quattro bugger ever? S-Variant? Will it be a Polo:A1?

The Mini is all about options, I think an A1 will never be as popular without character. A smaller A3 is only so appealing…

Wouldn’t VW and Audi be eating each other’s lunches? How profitable is it to have a vehicle in EVERY category just because your competitor (with a lot more cash) is doing it???

Mini will still kill it.

What made the mini succesful was that it was (and is) iconic. The New Beetle’s initial succes was the same. So whatever Audi comes up with, it had better have that illusive quality, or it simply be an also-ran.

i think itll be badass
lets not forget BMW has the 1-series as well, which is probably somewhere in between an A1 and an A3. Its too bad Audi wont bring us the A3 3-door for about 23,500 with 2.0t and quattro, cause id snap that up right quick.
its definatly going to be very elegant and for many of those buyers who think may the mini is too girly or childish. i owned a mini so dont criticize me over it, i drove it in a snowstorm and it was one of the most awful things you could possibly do. Quattro will be a main selling point on the A1, especially in the north, and 240hp should also give it a considerable edge as well. I’m just sick of hearing that VWAG wont bring the S3 here cause it may cannibalize the sales of the R32 (which will no doubt sell out just like the MKIV R32), but then they go ahead and give us this which could potentially cannibalize Golf/GTI sales (i refuse to call it the rabbit)

and whats going to happen to the TT when the R4 comes out? they’ll either need to price them considerably different, or kill it off.. and the TT is an Audi icon, not to mention gorgeous too.

The MINI is a very unique product and has a lot more going for it than just excellent handling and small packaging. Audi can come very close to or even surpass the perfomance part of the MINI.

What they can’t duplicate is the heritage and style that MINI has in bunches. You cant buy heritage.

and on a completely different wavelength, what classic names are available? what if audi snatched up the triumph or austin healey nameplates, or some other name for a small inexpensive car. Imagine if the mini had a kidney shaped grille on it.. it wouldnt have the same appeal whatsoever.

If this thing ends up with the Quattro AWD, Mini is as good as dead.

Renton… BMW bought heritage, didnt they

Audi didn’t bring the old A2 to the US,  VW already has the Polo which they refuse to bring to the US, MB has the A and B Class’ which they refuse to bring to the US, and BMW isn’t bringing the 1-Series to the US…

…so don’t hold your collective breaths about seeing the new little Audi here.

The Mini is cool…Competition will be cooler

bepsf… the A2 was a failed exercise by Audi with really no high-volume direct competitor besides the A-class, which also is obviously not available in the US, giving Audi less of an incentive to offer the niche market A2 here. The A1 targets a US bestseller and a rapidly growing US market segment, making it much more likely to be offered here.. that is if it passes the rediculous government standards.

and hopefully BMW will start offering its 1-series here soon, and VW has the Golf/GTI which is priced less and or competitively when compared with the Mini.. leaving no reason to overcrowd the brand with the Polo or Lupo here.. although it would be nice.

If the R4 is a Porsche Boxster competitor, someone tell me what slice of the market the TT is in right now, because correct me if I’m wrong, but the new TT and even the old TT compete against the Porsche Boxster, BMW Z4, Mercedes Benz SLK, Honda S2000, and Nissan 350Z

i said that 5 hours ago ^

A4 — Yes, BMW bought heritage. So I stand corrected, but what I meant is, what heritage is left for Audi to buy now?

i suggested something like Triumph or Austin Healey, which im guessing arent for sale but whoever owns the rights to the names surely wouldnt mind a fat check from VW… too bad they didnt snap up MG when it was on the chopping block.

“the name Austin is now owned by Nanjing who bought the MG Rover Group from BMW. The name Healey has been owned by the Healey family and recently sold to HFI Automotive.”

As for triumph
“The trademark is currently owned by BMW, acquired when it bought the Rover Group in 1994. When it sold Rover, it kept the Triumph marque. The Phoenix Consortium, which bought Rover, tried to buy the Triumph brand, but BMW refused, saying that if Phoenix insisted, it would break the deal. Standard and Triumph are now, along with Riley, Rolls-Royce and Mini, part of the BMW Group.”

im sure one of them wouldnt mind tossing it, especially BMW, they certainly have little use for the nameplate.

A mini from Audi.That could be a sales monster.You take Audi’s level of refinement and ball it up into a nifty small package.That is an excellent idea.I’d like a grill that is a liitle different,though.Smaller and less ‘gaping maw’ or whatever.

Slam the door on BMW’s Hooey’s & Bang’s noses.Hard.Something very German.