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 coup 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)
New Audi A3: the diesel engines
Audi has dropped plans to fit the V6 diesels in the next A3, preferring revvier four-pots. All switch to common-rail diesel delivery for cleaner emissions and power:
• 90bhp and 105bhp 1.6 TDI
• 140bhp 2.0 TDI
• 170bhp 2.0 TDI
• 204bhp/310lb ft 2.0 TDI
And Audi’s answer to Efficient Dynamics is...
Audi’s late to the green party, but we hear it will offer the next A3 with a choice of green goodies ranging from start-stop systems to mild hybrids.
A spate of new dual-clutch cogworks – the transmission of choice across the entire A3 line-up – will be designed to trim emissions and fuel guzzling, as much as improve on those 0-62mph times. Let's face it, that benchmark sprint is going to continue to become more irrelevant in the next decade.
Just remind me about Audi’s new MQB matrix…
To offset the investment for the new technologies and for the additional A3 bodystyles, the team from Ingolstadt is expecting serious economies of scale from the switch to the MQB matrix.
MQB covers three segments (A1, A3, TT) and will eventually meet all hybrid and electric drive requirements for the company. It’s been designed to be uber-flexible, providing every conceivable bodystyle and drivetrain option, and even the innovative aluminium-and-steel matrix preferred by Audi.
Across four VW group brands, MQB will father 46 different models with a combined production volume of about 3.5 million units per annum. If you’re a suit and use words like ‘synergies’, you can’t go much bigger than this – even if your name is GM or Toyota…
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