Audi A3 sedan concept
Audi has issued a series of official renderings depicting an A3-based sedan concept. The concept will make its public debut at the Geneva motor show.
The new four-door previews an upcoming fourth variant of the A3 that Ingolstadt sources confirm will form part of a third-generation lineup due out in 2012 and set to include similarly styled successors to today's popular three-door hatchback, five-door Sportback and two-door cabriolet.
Conceived along similar lines to parent company Volkswagen's latest Jetta and described as a spiritual successor to the original Audi 80, the new A3 variant is being looked upon to boost Audi sales in markets such as North America, China and Russia.
“We've looked at the situation very carefully and come to the conclusion that a small sedan positioned below the A4 has the potential to significantly increase sales penetration in a number of markets,” an Audi official toldAutoWeek.
Drawing on Audi's latest design lineage--as seen on the A8 and the more recent A6, the A3 sedan concept wears the German carmaker's prominent six-corner single frame grille, along with angular headlamps carrying complex LED internal graphics. A tautly drawn body features a high waistline, a relatively shallow greenhouse, a sloping deck lid and horizontal tail lamps similar to those used on the A7.
At 174.8 inches long, the new A3 concept is 7.4 inches shorter than the Jetta and 10.2 inches shorter than the Audi A4 sedan. The upcoming production version of the new four-door is expected to retain the same dimensions.
As well as previewing the svelte styling of the upcoming A3 sedan set to appear in Geneva, Audi's latest concept also provides the best clues yet to parent company Volkswagen's new MQB platform. Developed to replace the existing PQ36 structure, the MQB is set to provide the basis for a wide range of transverse front-engine, front- and four-wheel-drive models, the first of which will be the third-generation A3.
Powering Audi's lastest concept is the same turbocharged 2.5-liter inline five-cylinder engine unveiled in the Quattro concept shown at last year's Paris motor show. With 408 hp, it hints at a sedan version of the second-generation RS3 that Audi sources say is tentatively set to join the Audi lineup in 2015.
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