AbstractWe present XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of the born-again planetary nebula A 30. These X-ray observations reveal a bright unresolved source at the position of the central star whose X-ray luminosity exceeds by far the model expectations for photospheric emission and for shocks within the stellar wind. We suggest that a “born-again hot bubble” may be responsible for this X-ray emission. Diffuse X-ray emission associated with the petal-like features and one of the H-poor knots seen in the optical is also found. The weakened emission of carbon lines in the spectrum of the diffuse emission can be interpreted as the dilution of stellar wind by mass-loading or as the detection of material ejected during a very late thermal pulse.