Audi Shows Off New A3 Cabriolet

Audi has just announced a new way to get a little extra sunshine in its smallest North American model, the A3 Cabriolet. Joining the A4 Cabriolet and the TT Roadster, the new A3 will act as the brand’s entry level drop-top.

Instead of a hatchback, the A3 Cabriolet features a small trunk under an abbreviated decklid, much like the previous Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet; roof up or down, it shares a similar backside profile. Meanwhile, up front, Audi has revised the look of the A3 Cabriolet with a new hood and bumpers that further bring out the shape of the grille, plus new headlamps that are similar to those fitted to the R8, and the new A4 and A5. They feature daytime running LEDs, and silver inserts.

To keep the A3 Cabriolet as stiff and strong as possible, Audi has added considerable underbody reinforcements to prevent unwanted flex. Its engineers have also gone through the process of converting some of the construction materials from conventional steel to high-strength, ultra-high strength and hot-formed steel.

Audi opted for a cloth roof over a metal folding hardtop for a variety of reasons – cost, complexity and size all included. The cloth roof can be had in either semi-automatic form (header latches, automatic operation) or with a fully automatic “acoustic” roof filled with extra insulation. Both roofs raise and lower in just nine seconds, although this isn’t so much of an issue since it can be operated on the move at speeds of up to 20 mph. Impressively, the A3 Cabriolet will hold up to 9.2 cubic feet of cargo space, roof up or down, thanks to a clever Z-fold pattern. What’s more is that the rear the A3 Cabriolet’s rear seats have a 50:50 split fold, which expands the cargo capacity up to 23.8 cubic feet.

Audi will offer the A3 Cabriolet with four different four-cylinder engines, all of which feature turbochargers. The two diesel engines on offer are the 1.9 TDI and 2.0 TDI which deliver 105 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque and 140 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque respectively. On the flip side of the coin, Audi will offer its legendary, award winning 2.0 TFSI engine with 200 hp and 207 lb-ft of torque, as well as its new 1.8 TFSI engine which makes 160 hp and 185 lb-ft of torque. A six-speed manual transmission is standard (five-speed manual with 1.9 TDI), while the brand’s six-speed S tronic sequential manual (read: DSG) is an option. The A3 Cabriolet will only be offered with FrontTrak.

As of right now, only European market models of the A3 Cabriolet have been announced, but that’s expected to change. BMW announced earlier this year that it would be selling the 1-Series Convertible here in North America, which is the A3 Cabriolet’s key rival, so we should expect to see this little competitor in Detroit, or at least in Chicago a month later.