Audi A3 Clubsport quattro concept shows direction future A3 could go in; but expect majority of change under the skin

Audi A3 Sportsback | Audi A3 2011 Photos & Review | Secret New Cars | Car Magazine Online

By Georg Kacher/Tim Pollard

Spy shots

27 August 2008 11:23

The new A3 won’t arrive until 2011 – making today’s A3 a veritable pensioner by the time the new one arrives. So Audi is throwing the kitchen sink at the next A3, with new models like a four-door saloon to pep up Aud’s US sales push, as Ingolstadt targets 200,000 units a year Stateside. 

The A3 saloon will slot in between BMW’s 1- and 3-series saloons – Audi is confident there is room now that the latest A4 has swollen to within 140mm of the 5-series.

So what other A3 bodystyles will there be?

There will of course be a sleek three-door A3 that’s said to be a mix of coupé and shooting brake, a notably roomier five-door Sportback and a successor to today's A3 cabriolet based on the notchback. The most popular A3 variant globally is still the Sportback, which might face a 1-series Touring by 2011.

The new A3 will  be the first VW Group product based on the exciting new modular transverse components set (dubbed MQB in Audispeak), ushering in a new generation of Audi engines, mostly upgraded four-cylinder units:

New Audi A3: the petrol engines

• 1.2 TFSI, 105bhp/130lb ft
• 1.4 TFSI, 125bhp/150lb ft
• 1.8 TFSI, 160bhp/185lb ft
• 2.0 TFSI, 211bhp/260lb ft
• VR6, 260bhp
• 2.0 TFSI, 272bhp for S3
• 2.5 five-cyl, 320bhp/330lb ft for RS3 (every bodystyle bar the cabrio)

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