A3 to be Audi's Next Convertible?

Audi has the distinction of being the first of the premium automakers tointroduce a compact luxury vehicle to the North American marketplace with the A3 Sportback. Looking like a baby A6 Avant, the Rabbit/Jetta based A3 Sportback offers premium features, premium build quality and the premium nameplate with an efficient and advanced powertrain at a reasonable price. Of course, other brands followed in suit and most recently Volvo with the C30. Though Audi only offered the five-door Sportback model (a three-door is sold elsewhere), the brand might soon bring a convertible version of the A3 to market.

Sources have long predicted that an open-topped A3 would be on the way, but they weren’t quite sure when it would arrive. The latest word on the car is that it could be ready within the year, with the production unveiling taking place next spring at the Geneva Motor Show. The A3 Cabriolet wouldalmost certainly end up on our shores by 2009. Other information that’s cemented is that Audi will be using a standard cloth roof for the A3 Cabriolet. It’s a pretty smart move on their part, as a folding hardtop roof would not only drive the price up on a vehicle whose buyers are fairly price conscious, not to mention the fact that it would add unnecessary weight, take up trunk’s space and ruin the look of the vehicle’s backside and cost a lot to develop.

Or maybe not? After all, a folding hardtop A3 Cabriolet actually makes sense when observed from the bigger picture that is the empire of the Volkswagen Auto Group. While there used to be a cloth-top Golf Cabriolet in Volkswagen’s lineup, it has been completely replaced by the Eos coupe-convertible, which possesses an impressive folding hardtop roof. This vehicle is more elegant,but is wider and longer than any previous Cabriolet, not to mention a vehicle designed to elevate the prestige state of Volkswagen. The A3 Cabriolet could potentially make use of the Eos roof mechanism, although not without the aforementioned weight, cost, storage and design penalties. With a cloth roof the forthcoming soft-top would technically be more in line with VW’s old Cabrios in terms of size and structure, which could potentially put it at a price advantage over the more technically advanced Eos – now wouldn’t that be interesting.

Chances are that the A3 Cabriolet would be offered with the same powertrain combinations as the A3 Sportback – 2.0T with front-wheel drive in either twin-clutch S Tronic or six-speed manual guises, or, 3.2-liter V6 with S Tronic.

If Audi decides to give the A3 Cabriolet the green light, it’s a sign that Audi is thinking far ahead in the future. As spy photography has already shown, BMW will be growing out its 1-Series product lineup with two-door sedans (coupes) and convertibles. By having an affordable, luxurious compact convertible – a desirable position for most automakers - Audi will be able to fend off its Munich opposition. By the end of the decade, Ingolstadt should have at least three convertibles, the A3, the A5 (which will replace the A4 convertible) and the R8.