Geneva show: Audi to unveil A3 sedan concept

AUDI will reveal a long-anticipated A3-based sedan at the Geneva motor show on March 1, issuing a sketch of the vehicle this week and confirming the ‘technological concept car’ heralds a new derivative for the Volkswagen-owned prestige marque.

As well as showing off the design direction Audi has taken with the next-generation A3 family – including three-door hatchback, five-door Sportback and two-door Cabriolet – due for release in 2012, the four-seater sedan concept has also emerged with a 300kW five-cylinder turbocharged engine, paving the way for a future RS3 sedan.

This is believed to be the same 2.5-litre turbo used in the Quattro Concept shown in Paris last September, developing peak torque of 480Nm (between 1600 and 5300rpm) and driving all four wheels on a permanent basis through a seven-speed S-tronic transmission.

The Geneva concept measures 4440mm long, 1840mm wide and just 1390mm high, creating proportions that Audi says emphasises the dynamism of the car’s appearance.

Describing the A3 concept as “sporty yet elegant”, Audi says its designers have integrated the single-frame grille with its tapered upper corners and headlights with the latest generation of LED technology. It also points to the “low, flowing roof dome” and a “coupe-like, low C-pillar” as among the defining features of the side view.

All the company will confirm for now is that the A3 concept “offers a glimpse of the future expansion of the A3 family”.

In expanding the series, Audi will have great opportunity to increase sales in markets where sedans tend to be favoured over hatchbacks, such as in North America, China and, of course, Australia.

Both front- and all-wheel-drive models and a wide range of engines will feature in the production series.