Photo: Audi USA
As the New York Auto Show draws near, Audi made a shock announcement today, showing a 2016 model year A3 Sportsback hatchback which will go on sale in summer 2015 in America, but only as a diesel. The model shown is actually the one they sell in Europe, since it doesn't come with orange indicators, but other than that US models will look the same, Audi says.
Since the third generation Audi A3 was also developed as a sedan, which is just starting to arrive at North American dealerships, we naturally though thought there will not be a hatch any more. It's a case of expect the unexpected.
Interestingly, Audi USA says the decision to bring the A3 Sportback to the US after all came as a result of strong "enthusiast support".
“The A3 TDI Sportback has an incredibly passionate and loyal fan base, this new version has been one of our most requested models since the announcement of the new A3 family,” said Scott Keogh, President, Audi of America. “This new A3 TDI Sportback combines excellent fuel economy with advanced technology and utility and will make a stunning addition to the already impressive A3 family.”
The diesel engine in question is of course the same 150 hp 2.0 TDI going into the 2015 Jetta and all-new Golf models. The A3 sedan doesn't come with this mill yet, but it will somewhere in the later in 2014, joining the existing 1.8 and 2.0 turbos.
Audi plans to have a huge lineup of compact car models, all based on the new MQB modular platform. This will include the A3 Sedan the A3 Cabriolet, A3 TDI clean diesel sedan, S3 Sedan and even the A3 e-tron, a plug-in hybrid with good performance.
Interestingly, Audi USA says the decision to bring the A3 Sportback to the US after all came as a result of strong "enthusiast support".
“The A3 TDI Sportback has an incredibly passionate and loyal fan base, this new version has been one of our most requested models since the announcement of the new A3 family,” said Scott Keogh, President, Audi of America. “This new A3 TDI Sportback combines excellent fuel economy with advanced technology and utility and will make a stunning addition to the already impressive A3 family.”
The diesel engine in question is of course the same 150 hp 2.0 TDI going into the 2015 Jetta and all-new Golf models. The A3 sedan doesn't come with this mill yet, but it will somewhere in the later in 2014, joining the existing 1.8 and 2.0 turbos.
Audi plans to have a huge lineup of compact car models, all based on the new MQB modular platform. This will include the A3 Sedan the A3 Cabriolet, A3 TDI clean diesel sedan, S3 Sedan and even the A3 e-tron, a plug-in hybrid with good performance.
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