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1: The Project
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The latest addition to the Pasini family's stable of automotive oddities is a 2002 Audi 'A2' (internally designated as 'Typ 8Z'). I was an admirer of this sophisticated luxury compact car since I test drove it at the official Press launch (2000?) and now, needing a practical hatch for Firenze, I chose to buy one |
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The shape of the A2 has been criticized for being dumpy, but I think it's brilliant. Illustrious ancestors for the 'high-tail' school of aerodynamic design: Wunibald Kamm's Mercedes 170 and BMW 328 Mille Miglia (1940) |
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The concept of the A2 was the brainchild of one of the guys that I respect more than anyone else in the automotive field, Prof. Ing. Ferdinand Piëch. The audacious idea of an all-aluminium luxury supermini comes from the same guy that conceived masterpieces like the Porsche 917 and 908/02-03, the Audi Ur-Quattro and the original all-aluminium A8. The A2 was as sophisticated as them all |
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The 'curved' nose of the A2 has probably influenced the Citroen C2 and the first Yaris... |
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The VW 1-Litre car is a spiritual descendant of the A2 |
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It is extremely interesting to see that the controversial A2 was designed by Luc Donckerwolke, an exceptionally talented designer that I met when he was at Lamborghini designing a splendid car like the original Murciélago and the Gallardo as well. I always thought, since I first road-tested the A2 17 years ago, that its shape was extremely fascinating, probably not 'classically' pretty, but so much more interesting and innovative than its rivals' |
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LucDonckerwolke drawing |
His original 'Al2' |
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From the 'Al2' concept car, first shown at the 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show, Audi developed the sophisticated 'A2' (internally designated 'Typ8Z') whose production began in November 1999. The front bears some similiarity to the equally stunning original 'TT' |
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The A2's aluminum body is a sight to behold |
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"The official brief was for a car that would take four people from Stuttgart to Milan on a single tank of petrol. Not a massive challenge to be honest, as that's only 322 miles, but then the A2's tank was pretty small." |
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Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Piëch believed in the use of aluminum for his cars (he is an engineer, after all!) so the A2 was largely made in this light, strong metal |
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A clean dashboard |
Aluminum from A2 to A8 |
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Nice pics |
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Explaining the aluminum body of the A2 |
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A very functional dashboard |
Faultless aerodynamics |
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A 'Piniengruen' A2 with sunroof and beige interior, exactly as our car. Proof of the quality of its design is that it is still a very pleasant shape and if you compare it to its rivals when new, it hasn't aged a bit |
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Any way you look at it, the A2 was a brilliant project whose success was hindered only by its hefty list price and the high repair costs. It is interesting to see that the shape that Donckerwolke developed for the A2 is still so good that when BMW had to design a bold new shape for their electric 'i3', a car shouting its being at the forefront of the new electric technology, the end result was....another A2. The similarity between the two cars is striking, though several bends and twists in the i3 body try to make it look 'different' (or tortured?) whilst a two-tone paint is often applied to seek the same result. At the end the A2 and i3 are actually twins, though one was born in 1999, the latter in 2013. The i3 is often shown in clashy two-tone paint |
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Today's A2: the BMW i3 |
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"... Yet if you’re a lover of rational design, it’s hard not to admire – and even desire – an A2. It might have resembled an automotive design school thesis, but the ridged roof, the single pantograph-action wiper, the lack of any wiper at all at the rear, dent-proof plastic wheelarches, removable rear seats, and maintenance features accessed via the closed-off grille all pointed to a project fashioned by young and slightly naive idealists. All of which adds to its retro-future charm today.... Not that you’d call it pretty, now or then, its university project styling clearly failing to trigger the mass extraction of credit cards from pockets. But for all that it was a mightily far-sighted car, its emphasis on low emissions, high economy and clever practicality all the stuff of today’s showrooms. And only BMW has dared to pursue a lightweight body structure for a car in this class since, with its i3. Audi engineering ambition has been a little more cautious since the A2. But failure or not, this car certainly shone a light on the future." (Richard Bremner, excerpt from https://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/great-motoring-disasters-audi-a2/) |
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Production figures: |
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| A2 1,2 TDI | 6.555 |
| A2 1,4 | 81.649 |
| A2 1,4 TDI 55 kw | 69.676 |
| A2 1.4 TDI 66 kw | 7.416 |
| A2 1,6 | 11.081 |
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Total 176.377 |
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