That carbon fiber-reinforced plastic finds its way into the grille, front air intakes, 20-inch wheels, side mirrors, and rear diffuser, while aluminum highlights can be found inside and out.
Under the hood are a 2.5-liter turbocharged 5-cylinder (300 kW / 408 horsepower ; 500 Nm / 369 lb-ft) and 7-speed S tronic transmission which help hurl the car to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.1 seconds on its way to a limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). Efficiency figures go like this: 9.1 liters/100 km (25.85 US mpg), with 212 grams CO2 / km (341.18 g/mile) in emissions.
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It's been rumored for a while now that Audi was exploring the possibility of adding a four-door sedan body style to its A3 range, but today, the German firm officially confirmed the news with the release of the first official sketches of the A3 Concept ahead of its world premiere at the 81st International Geneva Motor Show in early March.
Its main purpose is to preview both the saloon variant and the styling direction of the next A3, which is scheduled for a rollout in 2012 and will also include the successors to today's three-door hatchback, five-door Sportback and the two-door convertible models.
"The four-seater notchback sedan offers a glimpse of the future expansion of the A3 family," Audi said in a statement.
The A3 concept measures 4.44 meters (14.57 feet) long, 1.84 meters (6.04 feet) wide and just 1.39 meters (4.56 feet) high, meaning it's slightly smaller than the new Volkswagen Jetta (4.64 m long).
The sedan study embodies Audi's latest design language as seen on the recent A8, A6 and A7 Sportback models featuring a single-frame grille with tapered upper corners, angular headlights with LED technology and taut body lines.
The show car is fitted with an upgraded version of the 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbocharged engine found under the bonnet of the current RS3 and TT RS models, producing a peak output of 408-horses. The five-pot distributes power to all four wheels through a seven-speed S tronic transmission and permanent all-wheel drive.
We'll have more details on the A3 Concept from the Geneva Motor Show in March.
An Audi A3 Sportback owner in New York City's East Village received a chilly surprise on Monday after finding his car literally encased in ice. The freakish incident occurred after a pipe broke under the street sometime during the weekend causing a sinkhole that formed a small pond around the Audi. The passing cars splashing water all over the A3 and subfreezing temperatures did the rest. As you can see in the video after the jump, the ice was so thick that the owner's attempts to free the car from its frozen cage with a chisel and a hammer proved futile.
Just like any other electronic product, navigation systems are continuously upgrade with better software and hardware. Audi's updated navigation system plus with MMI (Multi Media Interface) for the A3, TT and R8 models promises to offer improved route calculation speeds thanks to a latest-generation processor clocked at 600 MHz while another significant enhancement is are the 800 x 480 pixel, high-resolution graphics displayed on the 6.5-inch screen.
On the back of the display, which can be folded away at the push of a button, are two slots for SD and SDHC cards with capacities of up to 32 GB, enough to store about 14,000 songs or 700 hours of music.
Also new on Audi's updated navigation system plus is the optical parking assistant which can be combined in the Audi R8 with the rearview camera. Aside from the acoustic warning signals, the distance to the front and to the rear is now displayed optically on the high-resolution display.
The new system is available for order now with prices ranging between €2,270 and €2,565, depending on the model.
Now here's a video worthy of the all-new Audi RS3's sporty credentials and quattro heritage. Forget about the bland static footage of the car released at launch because this clip is -mostly- about having some slideways fun on the snow accompanied by the howling sounds of the RS3's 340HP turbocharged inline-five. Enjoy the 7 minute long film, which was shot in Canada, right after the break.
With this kit, the S3's 2.0 TFSI engine produces 328HP and 425 Nm of torque versus the standard's car's 265HP and 350 Nm. The Austrian tuner said that the BS3 accelerates from standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) almost a full second quicker than the stock S3 (5.7 sec) while top speed rises from 250 km/h to a hefty 265 km/h (165mph).
Other mechanical modifications concern the fully adjustable O.CT Coilover Suspension and an 8-piston braking system with 372 mm discs/rotors.
The S3's exterior looks are enhanced with an aerodynamic package designed by Swiss Styling Expert Color Concept Boehler. The car's widened fenders allow the use of a significantly bigger wheel-tire combination - two piece, forged MÖZ-Wheels measuring 9 x 20 inches up front and 10 x 20 inches at the rear. The alloys are shed with Yokohama Advan Sport Tires with 245/30 R 20 and 255/30 R 20, respectively. Finally, the kit also comes with carbon-fiber Add-ons for the engine, battery and air intake.
German tuner Hofele has released several aerokit for the Audi A3 cabriolet. For the face of the always adorable A3 convertible, the single-frame front bumper provides for a GTS-look, featuring large air intakes on each end. The GT-bumper also includes a fog-light kit which can be ordered separately.
