The Volkswagen CC1 Is An Unknown Concept Car Which Highly Influenced The Audi A2

Not every concept car is presented under the flashing lights of an Auto Show. Some of them go directly into the depot - just like this one, the mid 1990s Volkswagen CC1. In 1996 Audi took over its development and created the A2 - a mass production economic car which was way ahead of it’s time.
With the CC1, Volkswagen tested lightweight design using Aluminum and Carbon Fiber, downsized engines, aerodynamic shapes and the Double-Clutch Transmission.

The guidelines were simple: Create a lightweight car which needs less than 2 liters for 100km and which has good active and passive safety features. The engineers came up with a 0,9 liter three cylinder naturally-aspirated diesel with 35hp. Audi later went less radical, with a 61hp engine which needed 3 liters for 100km (not under realistic conditions of course).
The aerodynamics of the CC1 also influenced the A2: The lights are integrated into the body, and combined with the covers for the rear wheels this was good for a drag coefficient of 0,2.
The body is made from Carbon Fibre, the chassis from Aluminum - in total, the car weighs only 440kg.
It also featured an early form of the nowadays commonly used Double-Clutch Transmission (or ‘Doppelkupplungsgetriebe’ as we Germans like to call it, you probably know that Top Gear Meme)

The CC1 was found in the depot under a pile of junk - forgotten and in bad condition. A specialist team now reconstructed it, with the help of some Ex-Volkswagen-officials. Now it’s on display in the Volkswagen Museum and shows the long way to the highly underrated Audi A2.

Tobi aka The Stig’s German Cousin