More info on Audi's next A3

Published Oct 21, 2011

Share

Audi is only officially releasing its third-generation Audi A3 at the Geneva Motor Show in March next year, but that hasn't stopped chief designer Stefan Sielaff from divulging some information on the new range during an interview with Auto Motor und Sport.

Sielaff told the German magazine that the A3 family will include four body styles - a three-door hatch, five-door Sporback, four-door sedan and a convertible. All will share the same front end styling and cabin, but the sedan and convertible will have different taillights and wider wheel arches, while the sedan and Sportback will have a slightly longer wheelbase.

As you'd expect, the next A3 will be more efficient than the current model, this aided not only by its high-tech TSI and TDI motors but also by an overall kerb weight that's about ten percent lighter and Audi has also reportedly spent a tonnes of money on perfecting its “precision and quality.”

It's still not clear exactly what's in store for the engine range, except that it will get VW's new 104kW 1.4-litre TFSI turbopetrol motor with cylinder deactivation. This system will aid efficiency by allowing it to run on just two cylinders under lighter engine loads. If this year's pair of A3 concept cars are anything to go by then hybrid and full-electric versions of the A3 could also be on the cards.

On that note, the Audi A3 concept that was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year already gives us a very good idea of how the next A3 will look, at least in sedan form. Sielaff would not elaborate too much on the looks, except to say that it will be clearly recognisable as an A3.

Related Topics: