Smallest, most efficient, least pricey … and on sale from mid-2027.

AN uncompromising piece of engineering, using an aluminium spaceframe and radical aerodynamics to create an incredibly spacious and fuel-efficient small hatchback.

Which bombed big time for Audi.

Now there’s another A2, not as entirely advanced as the first, which produced from 1999 until 2005 and intrigued Audi NZ to point of evaluation. But that’s as far as it went. Just too avant garde for its time. And so expensive. Not just here, but everywhere. It’s now collectible, of course.

Fast forward to yesterday. A new A2 has revealed, this time as an electric car - so set to be sold as A2 e-tron - based on the well-utilised, mass market VW Group MEB platform; eschewing all-alumium construction for a more orthodox means, resembling the original in look but to larger scale. Basically, its expected to be a riff on Volkswagen’s smallest electric, the ID.3.

Oh yes … one more thing. It’s set to come on sale here in mid-2027.

The role? To provide a new lower-cost entry point to electric motoring behind the four rings and indirectly replace the Audi Q2, and to site as an electric alternative to the A3.

The model is still undergoing final trials - hence why images are of a camouflaged example - and a lot of technical detail is still under wraps, but more will be known within a few weeks.

Like the previous A2, which ran teensy petrol and diesel engines, the electric is being touted as Audi’s most efficient production car.

Audi NZ says intending buyers (and yes, you can register interest now) can anticipate preliminary energy consumption of just 12.8 kWh per 100 kilometres.

This courtesy of advanced aerodynamics, a highly efficient electric drive system that’s a step up from what goes into VW Group product right now and an intelligent lithium iron phosphate battery.

“The A2 e-tron delivers exceptional efficiency without compromising everyday usability,” the Auckland-based national distributor says.

Says Greg Leet, the local operation’s general manager: “The original Audi A2 earned a reputation as one of the most forward-thinking vehicles of its era, with efficiency at the heart of its design.

“It's exciting to see those same values reimagined for the electric age in the new A2 e-tron. It represents a compelling new chapter for this iconic nameplate.”

The battery is now lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) instead of nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) chemistry, so it’s happy to be charged to 100 percent all the time.

The other big thing is the new ‘APP350’ electric motor, which is even more efficient, thanks to thinner materials, thinner oil and a separate oil pan, so the gears don’t constantly splash through a bath of oil, causing drag.