New Audi A3 Coming Soon, and Here's a First Look

The hatchback model will be launching in Europe first, but we expect to see a sedan version for the U.S. later this year.

Audi

• Audi is sharing some information about the next-generation A3 ahead of its debut at the Geneva auto show in March.
• The car pictured here is a prototype for the Europe-market Sportback model.
• We expect a sedan version of this new A3 to arrive in the U.S. sometime later this year.

The smallest Audi is getting a redesign, and we've now gotten our first look at the next-generation A3. These pictures show a camouflaged prototype of the A3 Sportback, a hatchback version of this compact luxury car that's sold in Europe. It'll make its debut in this form at the Geneva auto show next month, and this first look gives us an indication for what to expect from the eventual A3 sedan that we're likely to get in the U.S.

We Enjoy the S3 and RS3

Potent Half-Pint: 2017 Audi S3 Tested

An Ode to the RS3s Riotous Five-Cylinder Engine

The new A3 appears to have an evolutionary look, with front-end styling that apes that of the slightly larger A4 sedan and headlights that look similar to the e-tron electric SUV. The A3 sedan that America gets will obviously differentiate itself from this hatchback from the B-pillar rearward. Audi has offered the A3 hatchback in the U.S. in the past, mostly recently in e-tron plug-in-hybrid form, but we don't expect the Sportback to return to our shores.

Audi

Audi is detailing several of the A3's new mechanical features that are said to improve handling, but from what we can deduce the company is effectively stating that it will be offered with Quattro all-wheel drive and adaptive dampers—nothing all that novel to the Audi family. The AWD setup does sound distinct from other Audi systems in the way that it can disconnect the rear axle (Audi does offer a system called Quattro with ultra that already does that, but this setup strikes us as slightly different).

There's no info yet on powertrains for the new A3, but we can assume that it will continue to include higher-performance S3 and RS3 variants. Stay tuned for more information to come on the new A3 range as it makes its debut next month.