Audi A1 premium compact car unveiled – Geneva debut on schedule!

After months of releasing teaser by teaser, Audi has finally unveiled the production Audi A1 in full on the internet. For those who want to see the car in real space, it’ll be shown to public in the metal for the first time at the Geneva show at the end of this month. A baseline price has been revealed – about 16,000 Euros will be the minimum price you’ll have to fork out for this compact.

Audi claims the A1 is the first in the premium compact segment – and that’s some pretty strong words to say. Is he saying that Mercedes-Benz’s smart and BMW’s MINI brands are not premium enough? MINIs definitely have premium pricetags here in Malaysia, or is he saying that the A1 has far superior materials compared to the MINI? We’ll only find out if we get to see an actual production car.

According to the press release, customers can customize various features to their own personal tastes. Among the selections that an owner can make include colored air nozzles, LED interior lights, different colours for the roof arch and various colours for the seat covers. Audi also says the A1 offers the best audio system options in its segment – you are able to specify stuff like MMI navigation plus and even a 465 watt Bose surround sound system.

The A1 will debut with two petrol engines and two diesel engines. The petrol engines make either 86 horses and 122 horses, so they aren’t exactly going to be any threat to the Cooper S or JCW models from BMW, but that could be reserved for a model like an “S1″ or an “RS1″? The diesels are both 1.6 liter TDIs in different states of tune – 90hp and 106hp. The car comes standard with a manual but can optionally be equipped with a 7-speed Audi S-Tronic (DSG) dual clutch transmission.

Look after the jump for a full 23 page press release chock full of details as well as high res photos and a video. The video shows a German bloke explaining the design features of the A1.