Audi Revives the Cult Classic A2 for Europe With 400+ Miles of EV Range

Early in the 2000s, Audi offered a quirky sub-compact, minivan-esque hatchback called the A2. That car lasted just six years in production and never saw a direct replacement, but its bubbly, friendly design made it a cult classic among city car fans across the world. More than two decades later, however, the A2 is back, and in the same way so many other cars have been revived lately: as an electric crossover. It may be larger and lacking an internal combustion engine, but the new A2 E-Tron does preserve the basic shape of its predecessor. The signature roofline is the biggest tribute to the original city car—a single curving shape from the A-pillar to its abrupt stop right before a sheer drop of a decklid. Audi has introduced a little bit more bodywork behind the final window this time around, taking away some of the classic glassy look above the beltline of the original car, but the high-sided line along the profile that looks like a compromise to fit the car's SUV shape is mostly true to the original A2. Audi Audi Like the first draft of this particular model, the A2's hallmark remains efficiency. Audi says that it can go 401 miles on a single 82-kWh battery charge, according to the (generous) European WLTP cycle, with lower numbers for the 52- and 61-kWh battery options. That comes out to just under 5 miles per kWh, short of the 5.8 miles per kWh that the new Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class claims on the same European cycle but still impressive for a crossover. It is enough to make the A2 Audi's most efficient car, although it also happens to be the brand's smallest EV offering by far. Audi Audi has not announced plans to sell the A2 in the United States, and history suggests the lovable little crossover is probably not coming Stateside any time soon. The company did not offer the A2 here last time around, and the combination of Audi's premium positioning in the American market and the country's cooling interest in EVs makes it even less likely to come across the Pond this time. We would love to see this little car make its way across the ocean, though; Road & Track has reached out to Audi for comment on the possibility of the new A2 doing just that, and we'll update this story if we receive more information. Fred Smith's love of cars comes from his fascination with auto racing. Unfortunately, that passion led him to daily drive a high-mileage, first-year Porsche Panamera. He is still thinking about the last lap of the 2011 Indianapolis 500.