Hot on the heels of the launch of the large scale Audi A8 comes a car at the opposite end of the spectrum for the German company: the A1.

Aimed squarely at the MINI, the A1 will even be offered with the same sort of (near endless) colour, trim and personalisation options as a MINI to make it the customer's own. To begin with, the Audi A1 will come as a three-door hatchback, but five-door and cabriolet versions are both expected to follow on the from the launch of the first A1 when it goes on sale in November 2010.

At first, the A1 will come with 1.2- and 1.4-litre petrol engines and a 1.6-litre turbodiesel with 104bhp. The diesel will be offered with Audi's S tronic seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and this variant will be capable of 72.4mpg and emit just 102g/km of carbon dioxide.

Using the 1.6 turbodiesel engine, the A1 will complete 0-62mph in 10.8 seconds. The 1.2 petrol needs 12.1 seconds, while the 1.4 does the same feat in 9.1 seconds and it will also be offered with the option of the S tronic 'box in place of its standard six-speed manual.

Based on the same platform as the latest Volkswagen Polo, the A1 has MacPherson strut front suspension and torsion beam rear. All A1s will come with ESP stability control and Audi promises the A1 will be nimble and fun to drive.

Audi's usual SE, Sport and S Line trim levels will be offered in the A1 and all versions will come with air conditioning, alloy wheels and a CD stereo. The A1 will also have the option of Audi's latest Multi Media Interface, as seen in the new A8.

The A1 will cost from around £13,000 when it goes on sale in the UK in August and makes it debut at the Geneva show in March.

Alisdair Suttie - 10 Feb 2010