SPY PICS: Audi A1 Allroad snapped

The new-generation Audi A1 Sportback will arrive in Australia in 2019 and Audi appears to be planning to add an Allroad version of the diminutive hatch for the first time.

As a progenitor to the Audi Q2 SUV, which was preceded in 2015 by talk of an Audi Q1 that is yet to eventuate, the pint-size crossover could add a bit of class to the small SUV sector in which the Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona, Mazda CX-3, Mitsubishi ASX, Nissan QASHQAI, Subaru XV and Toyota C-HR currently reign.

Audi's first A1 Allroad appears to be little more than a minimally reworked A1 hatch appealing to those who want a bit of pint-size macho in their light-class hatchback.

The spy photos snapped at the Nurburgring in Germany show nothing that is identifiably crossover in the camouflaged test mule. Even the normally jacked-up ride height is missing. It sits exactly like a regular A1 and the lack of faux SUV appurtenances gives absolutely nothing away.

Still, the talk persists and the disguise-clad test mule photographed here seems to indicate something is actually going on with the A1, apparently in the front and rear styling, and in the side skirt areas if nowhere else.

Word is that the A1 Allroad won't divert from the normal A1 driveline either: The three- and four-cylinder engine line-up, with six-speed manual and seven-speed dual-clutch transmissions, is tipped to replicate that of the regular second-generation A1 hatch about to be launched in Europe.

Watch this space for further developments...