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Your Next Audi A3 Will Come With Seat Upholstery Made From Recycled PET Bottles

After revealing the exterior design of the all-new A3 with “official spy photos” earlier this month, Audi teases the compact hatchback once again. This time around, the premium automaker from Ingolstadt makes a point about recycling.
2021 Audi A3 plastic seat upholstery 18 photos
Photo: Audi
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The front and rear seats of the A3 take up 45 PET bottles with a capacity of 1.5 liters (50 ounces). Even the carpets are made from polyethylene terephthalate, the polyester which is extruded or molded into whatever you want to make from it. Secondary raw materials are responsible for the insulating materials and absorbers, side panels of the luggage compartment, and loading floor. All told, Audi utilizes more than 100 bottles in a single car, all in the name of sustainability.

If you were wondering how the PET is turned into seating upholstery, “an elaborate procedure” transforms the plastic into a yarn. Audi guarantees “the same standards in terms of look and feel as conventional textile upholstery,” but that’s not exactly true considering how polyester and cotton clothing feel against one’s skin.

It should be highlighted that the upholstery of the seats isn’t fully recyclable material. “The lower layer of woven material, which is connected to the upper material with adhesive, is what poses the challenge," said Ute Gronheim, the man in charge or material development in the textiles division at Audi. In the long term, the automaker’s promise is to level up to 100 percent across all series models.

No fewer than three recycled seat covers are available in the all-new A3, sporting up to 89-percent recyclable material. The steel-gray option is called Torsion, and it’s paired to yellow contrast stitching. “Puls” is the name of the second option, and S line models are treated to side bolsters made of artificial leather upholstery.

We’ll finally get to see the A3 – inside and out – at the 2020 Geneva Motor Show on March 3rd. This time around, the quattro all-wheel-drive system will divert up to 100 percent of the engine’s torque to the rear axle for more sideways excitement.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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