Audi A1 Sportback Concept: First Pictures of 5-door Variant

Nearly a year after Audi unveiled the 3-door A1 Metroproject Quattro concept at the 2007 Tokyo Auto Show and the Germans are still fiddling around with their minicar project. This time the firm from Ingolstadt will preview a 5-door variant of their forthcoming MINI rival at the Paris salon. Aside from the two extra doors, the Germans polished the A1’s exterior styling by tweaking the front-end treatment which now features a hexagonal grille and a more concave hood design. -Continued

Other changes in the vehicle’s design include the tweaked rear-end and the more pronounced fenders. As expected, the A1 Sportback’s retains the interior of the Tokyo show concept car.

We don’t have the official technical specs in our hands yet, but we gather the A1 Sportback will most likely use the Metroproject Quattro’s hybrid drivetrain that combines a 150 HP 1.4-liter TSI petrol engine to a 41 HP electric motor in the rear axle. The production version of the A1 which will be offered in both 3-door and 5-door body styles is scheduled to hit showrooms in late-2009 or early-2011.