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And there you were, thinking the RS3 Sportback sat at the top of the A3 tree. This, TopGearers, is now the most powerful A3 ever built: the A3 concept.
The A3 in Geneva is shown as a four-door saloon and is the first car to give hints of the new A3 range, set to hit showrooms in 2012 as a hatchback, and a saloon a year later. The A3 concept is packing a 2.5-litre turbocharged five-pot TSI engine spitting out 400bhp and 368lb ft of torque - 60bhp more than the RS3 and just 14bhp down on the old RS4. That engine is, of course, mated to a seven-speed S tronic twin-clutch transmission.
See more pics of the Audi A3 concept in Geneva
Audi reckons the A3 concept in Geneva will sprint from 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds - half a second over the RS3 - and headbutt the limiter at 155mph.
Thanks to a large number of aluminium body parts keeping the weight to 1,540kg, a regulated oil pump and energy recovery systems, the A3 concept is said to return 31mpg and emit just 212g/km of CO2.
The concept's front and rear tracks are wider than even the RS3's swollen chassis, and production versions will have the front wheels closer to the front bumper than at present. The concept sits on 20in alloy wheels, and houses a 410-litre boot and a luxury interior - close to production - which includes a touch-pad MMI interface, aluminium trim panels and even iPad holders in the rear. With 400bhp though, you may get a little car-sick looking at a screen if the driver is sideways on full-opposite lock.
The saloon will launch with milder engines of course, but here's hoping for that full-fat, double-cream five-pot RS...
Open Car Bar
What do you think?
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littledinobug commented on this article
at 12:46 pm on 01 March 2011
... WANT. In my local autotrader there's a 2007 A6 I'm looking at rather hard. I wonder if my husband would get car envy.. >.> He drives a 2000 Ford Cougar
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MrPB commented on this article
at 01:08 pm on 01 March 2011
Help me out here. What is this car for? Surely the Audi 4 door saloon is called the A4?
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cereal_killer commented on this article
at 01:10 pm on 01 March 2011
YES, PLEASE
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Topgearfan44 commented on this article
at 03:47 pm on 01 March 2011
Not bad but id still have an RS6
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NobleM600 commented on this article
at 04:44 pm on 01 March 2011
good but looks rather boring and as proven before adding so much power to a hatchback can leed to emense power-steering
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