Breaking news: Audi exhibit bristles with new cars and bright lights

You know that a launch event is going to be something special if it starts out with a champion racing driver drifting a howling sports car around a dedicated arena. Yup, Audi is indeed going big for the 2019 Festival of Motoring, by slotting Mattias Ekström (one of their tame racing drivers and a multiple championship winner) into a bright yellow R8, and then letting it scream about on the skid pan. 

And why not? With their history of motorsport success, the company has every right to drum up excitement for their new unveilings by capitalising on that heritage. But, fun as it was to witness an R8 V10 travelling sideways (and going for joyrides and track outings in various Audi models), the really important stuff was happening inside the massive marquee tent.

If the Audi Q8 was an indication of things to come, their latest releases are the flesh to fill out the body of their range rejuvenation. Two of the new cars compete in bustling market segments, the third takes aim at the high-level luxury class, and the fourth shows us this brand’s route towards the future. Let’s take a closer look at Audi’s exhibition.

 

2020 Audi A1

The outgoing A1 has been around for almost a decade now, so showing us their latest premium supermini is really overdue. Waiting for the new one seems to have been worth it, though, as the new A1 is a striking-looking little car, with all the latest tech and a cheeky attitude. 

Arriving in local showrooms at the beginning of September 2019, the new A1 will no longer be sold in 3-door format, leaving only the 5-door Sportback variant up for sale. As was the case with its predecessor, the new A1 is based on its concurrent Volkswagen Polo, which means that it’s also closely related to its other MQB platform mates (such as the VW Golf and Audi A3). This translates to an A1 that’s quite a bit bigger than before, and a whole lot more sophisticated.

The local engine range is likely to include 1.0-litre turbo 3-cylinder (30 TFSI), a new 1.5-litre turbo 4-cylinder (35 TFSI), and 2.0-litre turbo 4-cylinder (40 TFSI) engines, with 6-speed manual- or 7-speed twin-clutch gearboxes on offer. he cabin design is bristling with electronic screens, body-colour trim pieces, and high-tech options, all in the modern idiom. A high-performance S1 variant will also be on the cards.

 

2020 Audi Q3

This is likely to become one of the brand’s volume sellers, seeing as it competes in the very popular compact premium SUV market segment. As with the A1, this car’s predecessor has been around for ages, and it was looking rather dated near the end. Fortunately, the new Q3 is looking as fresh and appealing now as the old one looked geriatric, so it’s already off to a good start. 

Audi makes much noise about their new styling language, but it’s really just a contemporary remake of established themes, only now with more flowing bodyside creases and pronounced wheelarch flares. That’s not a bad thing, mind you, as the new Q3 has a design that captures attention and soothes the eye, without looking weird just for the sake of it.

Once again based on the MQB component set, the new Q3 also features the latest in electronic gadgets and gizmos, and appears to be well-packaged and full of clever touches in its engineering. Being one size up from the A1, the new Q3 is likely to lose the 1.0-litre (30 TFSI) engine, but the engine line-up should otherwise mirror the variants available in the new A1. The new Q3 will hit local showrooms at the same time as the new A1 (September 2019), and should prove to be another sales hit.

 

2020 Audi A7 Sportback

Following closely on the heels of the new A1 and Q3, the fourth quarter of 2019 will also see the arrival of Audi’s top-level “4-door coupé” and non-SUV flagship, the new A7 Sportback. Its general shape may look familiar from the old model, but the new car proudly displays the ultimate expression of Audi’s new styling direction. 

It features prominent swage lines down its flanks, with dramatically flared wheelarches and a lower, sleeker interpretation of Audi’s gaping, single-frame grille. In fact, the new A7 Sportback looks very much like a sleeker interpretation of the styling themes introduced with their range-topping Q8 SUV, right down to the impressive show put on by those intricately-animated light clusters. (Just a pity it's almost impossible to photograph a black car on a black background at night...)

It’s the same story inside, where Audi’s new all-touchscreen user interface is employed to dramatic effect. Displayed in 55 TFSI guise (which means a 250 kW turbo V6 engine), the range will eventually expand to include diesel-, hybrid- and high-performance S7 and RS7 derivatives as well.

 

Audi e-tron Quattro

We’ve seen this all-electric SUV being displayed in various guises over the past year or so, and now it’s been unveiled in South Africa as well. The timeline for its arrival is still unclear, but it certainly looks like a promising prospect for our electric future. This car is already on sale in Europe, and has proven to be especially popular in Scandinavian countries. The cabin follows current Audi design trends, although the substitution of side mirrors with high-res cameras is a forward-thinking touch.

As displayed on their stand, the e-tron Quattro boasts a 328 km range, thanks to its 95 kWh battery pack, and can accommodate fast-chargers giving up to 150 kW. Crucially, the recharge time when connected to a fast charger, the recharge time drops to about 30 minutes, which should alleviate the agony of waiting for your electric car to “fill up”.

 

*Pricing for the A1, Q3, and A7 Sportback will be revealed during their upcoming launch events, and the e-tron Quattro’s arrival will be announced at a later stage.

 

Recommended reading:

We had a first-generation A1 on test, and liked it quite a bit.

The first S1 Sportback was a cracker as well.

The Audi Q3 has always been a good car, even as it started ageing.

Following its mid-life update, the outgoing A7 had huge appeal, and the S7 was a stormer.