In a recent interview with Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir, Alfons Dintner, head of Audi's Brussels plant, confirmed that the factory will start series production of the new Audi A1 mini in October. Dinter said that the German automaker will close the plant in August for five weeks in order to prepare for production of the A1 which will begin to arrive at Audi's European showrooms in the beginning of 2010.

According to Dinter, the A1 will initially be available as a three-door model with the five-door Sportback version following shortly after.

The Ingolstadt-based automaker previewed the A1 mini with the 2007 Metroproject Quattro (3d) study and more recently with the A1 Sportback Concept that was shown in Paris last year.

The production model will remain close to the two concepts, just don't expect to see details such as the frameless doors or the aggressively styled bumpers. In similar fashion, the concepts interior design will be toned down a notch or two .

Longer and wider than a Mini, Audi's premium supermini will be offered with a raft of 4-cylinder diesel and gasoline powertrains with direct injection including the VW Group's latest 1.2-liter and 1.4-liter TSI petrols. Audi is said to be also considering a soft-top cabriolet version while a hot S1 with close to 200HP should be considered a given.

Via:Le Soir