A couple of weeks after the garden variety 2012 Audi A3 was spied, a cooking S3 prototype has been seen sunning itself in California. Reports suggest the car will still be powered by a 2.0 turbo four. Power is expected to increase from 265hp to 280hp, while torque may remain at 350Nm; a bit too modest perhaps?
The third-gen S3 will be one of the first cars on Volkswagen’s new MQB platform to feature quattro all-wheel drive as well. S tronic and manual transmissions should be available from launch, and possibly in the 3 door S3 for the first time.
From the spy shots it appears as though the S3, and presumably the full A3 range, will have the option of radar controlled cruise control (note the small dome beneath the number plate mount). Other technology to be found will be stop/start and brake energy recuperation.
If the S3 finds its way into European showrooms in 2012 you’d think it would be late in the year. Based on that, our guess is the S3 would be on sale in Australia in the second half of 2013.
[Source: Car]
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[…] Back in August we brought you an update on the progress of the third generation Audi S3. At the time it had been spotted undergoing hot weather testing in California. Now we have some video for you as well. It’s not as exciting as seeing a test mule being flogged around the Nordschleife, but it does show a few good details. It looks like we’ll be seeing quad exhaust tips on an S3 for the first time too. Apart from that, not much else has changed from our previous report. […]