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)
from : http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Secret-new-cars/Search-Results/Spyshots/Audi-scoop-special-Audi-A3-revealed/
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