I’m not old enough to reminisce about when this part of East London was all fields, but I do remember a time when the Greenwich Peninsula seemed to be mud and cranes. I did a photoshoot here almost exactly 20 years ago, when what was then the Millennium Dome was still being hastily constructed ahead of its official opening on 1 January 2000.  Back then, the Dome looked like a vast circus tent – pretty much what it was. It stood by itself in the middle of a wilderness of reclaimed industrial land. Now renamed the O2 Arena, it is surrounded by so much development that photographer Luc Lacey struggles to find a vista that will allow both it and the Audi A2 to occupy the same frame.  O2 and A2 seem like an appropriate fit given it is also 20 years since Audi’s forward-looking supermini went on sale. When we decided to do a story about cars that were ahead of their time, there were several strong candidates for the starring role but one clear winner. The A2 was so futuristic in 1999, it feels as if the world is only just catching up to it; the similarly sized AI:ME concept that Audi showed at this year’s Shanghai motor show seems hardly more daring.  Yet, like the Dome, the A2 was a failure. Visitors trickled rather than flocked to the expensively assembled Millennium Experience, it drew less than half the numbers it was meant to and closed at the end of 2000 having racked up big losses. The Audi lasted longer, on sale until 2005, but high prices and limited practicality restricted sales success.  Yet it was a hugely brave statement. When Audi showed an aluminium-bodied supermini concept in 1997, few thought it would make production. Audi had never produced a car in this segment – the first-generation A3 was still a novelty at the time – and the only aluminium car in the line-up was the range-topping A8. Yet Audi did it, building the A2 around what was basically an aluminium spaceframe. It wasn’t just a car, it was a manifesto piece. In the days before premium superminis (this was two years before the first BMW Mini launched), Audi wanted to prove that small and relatively inexpensive didn’t have to mean basic and cheaply engineered. But it was also built to answer the very 2019 question of how to transport four people while using the minimum amount of fuel.  Weighing less than 900kg meant that small, efficient engines could be used. In the UK, there was the choice at launch between a four-cylinder 1.4-litre petrol and a three-cylinder TDI diesel of the same displacement, both of which made 74bhp. A more expensive 1.6-litre direct injection FSI petrol followed later. In Europe, Audi also offered an ultra-frugal 1.2 TDI version, which was the first production car to deliver ‘three litre’ consumption, returning 94.2mpg. Packaging perfection The utter familiarity of the A2 means its design has lost almost all of the radical originality it possessed at launch. Even this gleaming example borrowed from Audi’s heritage collection, and with just 28,000 miles showing, blends invisibly into any UK streetscape. But as numbers continue to dwindle – and they are falling fast – that freshness will return; the A2 sits close to the top of my list of near-certain future classics.  It is still one of the most space-efficient vehicles of all time, vying with the original Mini for packaging magic. Tall, narrow construction was chosen to both minimise aerodynamic drag and create serious interior volume. While a strict four-seater, the A2 has proper space for four adults, yet overall dimensions are shorter than almost any modern supermini – it is fully 200mm shorter than the new A1 but roomier inside.  The pared-back ethos holds true for equipment levels. Audi demanded A2 owners share the car’s minimalist philosophy when it came to extras. This SE model got air conditioning and a single-slot CD player – neither of which was standard on the base car – but that’s pretty much it for toys. The A2 was the last Audi sold in the UK with manual rear windows.  The driving experience is rich in contrast. Much is impressively modern: the A2 still feels light, agile and responsive – far more so than the stodgy first-generation Mercedes A-Class ever did. Low-speed ride is as clumpy as I remember it being when new, although the cabin is completely free of squeaks and rattles over Greenwich’s many traffic-calming measures. But on the long motorway schlep to London from the car’s home in the Midlands, the baby Audi feels composed at a rapid cruise, the tall seating position giving a crossover-ish eyeline and with refinement levels that still feel good for a supermini.  The 1.4-litre TDI engine has aged considerably less well; its main instructional role here is showing just how far diesel technology has come on in the past two decades. It’s vocal and unrefined, filling the cabin with thrum and vibration at idle and turning positively industrial when pressed harder. The powerband is narrow – there’s little urge below
Origin: Back to the future: revisiting the Audi A2