Tuesday 1st March 2011

Audi Reveals 400bhp A3 concept

Geneva concept hints at future A3 - and another RS model?

This new Audi A3 concept not only gives us a taste of the styling of the future of the next generation A3, (and a forthcoming saloon version), but it also hints at a possible second-generation RS3.

Powered by the same 402bhp turbocharged five-cylinder motor that went into the Quattro concept from last year's Paris show (itself an uprated version of the 335bhp motor found in the TT RS and newly released RS3 hatch), the A3 concept is a tantalising glimpse of a possible future for the RS sub-brand.

The new car is also wider, lower and (almost inevitably, being a four-door saloon) longer than the current A3, telegraphing a sense of sporting intent that should be backed up by the 402bhp powerplant.

As you'd expect from a performance Audi, the A3 concept puts its power to all four wheels, but unlike the Quattro Concept it does so via seven-speed 7-speed S tronic twin-clutch gearbox rather than a conventional manual transmission.