The original Audi A2 was a minicar ahead of its time, with an expensive aluminum body that couldn't pay off with better fuel savings. Now Audi's reviving the A2 for 2014, planning for better living through technology. Whatever happened to just driving carefully on your own?
The concept, just unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show, goes about 100 miles on a charge, has a glass panorama roof and a system called "Semi-Autonomous Driving," which lets the car drive itself in bumper-to-bumper freeway traffic. Inside there's mobile WiFi and a laser-projection system in the rear that traces a red triangle on the pavement behind the car in foggy conditions or at raves to warn traffic behind you.
The actual A2 will of course have little of this technology, but it will be sold in either all-electric or plug-in hybrid systems. All the numbers that matter — cost, performance — are still somewhere in the foggy future.