Tag: 8V S3

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Audi

Audi S3 Sportback to be priced from mid-60s

2013 Audi S3 Sportback

It’s not all that long ago that the Audi S3 had the upper-end of the hot hatch market pretty much all to itself. But with the recent or impending arrivals of hyper hatchery from BMW and Mercedes-Benz the four-ringed posse has quite a fight on its hands to earn your custom.

With only 221kW and 380Nm to play with Audi cannot compete on outright performance and that just leaves price. And while it won’t be an outright bargain the new S3 Sportback should undercut the M135i and A45 AMG when it goes on sale locally in December. Audi Australia says the S3 will carry a $65,000–70,000 price tag and will include plenty of standard kit.

If you want the S3 sedan you’ll only have to wait an extra month or so, Audi has announced it will launch in the first quarter of 2014.

Audi knows the S3 is fighting in the toughest market it has ever faced. “It’s a highly competitive market place and we want the many Audi customers, both existing and new, to be delighted with their brand new S3 Sportback,” says Audi Australia’s managing director, Andrew Doyle.

Pleasingly, Doyle confirmed a proper gearbox will be offered this time as well. “We will offer our customers both a 6 speed manual and a 6 speed S tronic transmission when we launch in December this year,” he said.

We look forward to finding out more about the standard level of equipment the Australian-spec S3 Sportback will carry. It’s going to have to be good to compete with its German rivals.

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Audi Motor Shows

New York 2013: Audi A3/S3 sedan

2013 Audi S3 sedan

Audi has released details of the production-ready A3 sedan. You may recall the new-generations A3 was first previewed in sedan, sorry, notchback form at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. Basically the Yanks like boots, sorry, trunks, and that’s why we’re seeing the A3 in this format.

However, as the lead pic shows, the A3 sedan need not be the domain of cardigan wearers, because there’ll be an S3 version as well. It’s no surprise that this pair of sedans are pretty much the same as their A3 and S3 hatchback siblings. And that means the S3 sedan gets the full 221kW/380Nm punch we’re already anticipating in the hatch versions.

Australian buyers will also be given the opportunity to get their hands on the A3 sedan, but not until early next year. We’ll have to touch base with Audi Australia to see if that means we can expect to see the S3 sedan as well.

In the meantime there’s the usual gallery of images after the break and they’re accompanied by a host of videos from Audi USA which tell you all you need to know about the A3 and S3 sedans.

Oh, one more thing, an RS3 sedan perhaps?

UPDATE 3 April: Audi Australia has confirmed the S3 sedan will go on sale locally in the first quarter of 2014.

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Audi

2013 Audi S3 Sportback revealed

2013 Audi S3 Sportback

In case you haven’t noticed the Geneva Motor Show is just around the corner; the bright lights and smoke machines will be switched on in early March. That means manufacturers are releasing pics and text on the models they’ll be putting on the stage. This time it’s Audi showing us their new S3 Sportback.

We’ve already seen the new 8V A3 in three-door hatch, five-door Sportback and S3 (three-door) form, so there’s no surprises with what we see here.

However, for those who may be interested in buying a new S3 pay attention, because this is the only model we’ll be seeing in Australia. It is expected to be in local showrooms sometime after October.

Since the introduction of the 8P S3 Sportback in 2008 three-door sales have dropped to a trickle and so it has been canned in Australia, which is a shame.

Making use of the Volkswagen Group’s adaptable MQB platform has allowed Audi to shed 70kg from the S3 Sportback; it now weighs 1445kg. And with the new 2.0 TFSI motor producing 221kW/380Nm it can reach 100km/h in 5.0 seconds when coupled to a 6-speed S tronic transmission.

A 6-speed manual box is available, although we’re not sure if that will be the case in Australia, and takes an extra 0.5 seconds to reach 100km/h. Which is rather interesting given that’s roughly the same as the time required for the heavier, less powerful 8P model. Hmm.

We think the A3 range has one of the best interiors of the new baby Germans (see BMW 1 Series and Mercedes-Benz A Class), which is par for the course really. What Audi will be hoping for with the range-topping S3 is that they can start making inroads into BMW’s reputation for dynamics, without losing ground to the A Class.

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Audi

2013 Audi S3 revealed

2013 Audi S3 (8V)

Here’s something for Volkswagen Group fans, the all-new Audi S3. This car will set the tone for a few other models to follow, most notably the next Golf R. Now featuring an EA888-based engine the latest S3 is good for 221kW, up from 195kW (or 188kW in Australian-spec). Torque has been increased by 30Nm to a new total of 380Nm, available from 1800–5500rpm.

We’ll never see the three-door S3 in Australia, but we will get the S3 Sportback. The three-door will go on sale in Europe early next year and the five-door Sportback model will follow in the second quarter of 2013. By our calculations we could see the S3 Sportback in Australia as early as the third quarter; yet to be confirmed by Audi Australia, of course.

With an optional 6-speed S tronic transmission Audi reckons it can hit 100km/h in only 5.1 seconds. If you insist on changing gears yourself you’ll need 5.4 seconds to reach triple figures. But here comes the sweetener, claimed fuel consumption on the combined cycle is 7.0l/100km for the manual and 6.9l/100km for the double-clutch jobbie. Assuming the S3 Sportback can match those numbers, that should be enough to scrape the S3 under the Australian Government’s Luxury Car Tax threshold.

The new S3 rides on the same sized 7.5″ width rims as the old model and the 225/40/18 sized tyres are also the same. However, handling should benefit from the front axle being moved 52mm forward and the 148kg engine, 5kg less than before, being angled back towards the bulkhead by 12 degrees.

That’s all due to the now ubiquitous MQB platform. The modular architecture has also helped contribute to a weight loss of 60kg over the old S3, but at 1395kg it’s still not going to be the lightest hot hatch going around. Of course, some of the weight is due to the quattro all-wheel drive system. The provided press text is light on for detail in this regard, but it sounds as though the quattro system used is very similar to the Haldex IV system used in the 8P S3.

A sophisticated suspension system should ensure handling improvements for the new S3, helped along in no small terms by the optional Audi magnetic ride as standard equipment. A total of three different tunes, also affecting throttle response and steering, can be chosen from the Audi drive select programs. The S3 also sits 25mm lower compared to its garden variety 8V A3 siblings.

You certainly couldn’t say Audi has brought anything radical to the table with its third-generation S3. But we do think think this clear case of minor improvements over the previous model will make for very pleasing car to drive. We can’t wait until the S3 Sportback lands down under so we can sample it for ourselves.

There’s another 30-odd pics for you after the break, along with Audi’s introductory press release. If they add anything new when the car debuts in Paris we’ll be sure to share it with you.

UPDATE: Audi’s 10 minute promo video for the new S3 has been added below.

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