Audi is building up to the unveiling of one of its biggest sellers, the 2020Audi A3, and prototypes have now dropped almost all of their disguise.
UPDATED: See the new Audi A3 here
New spy shots of the car testing show the Ingolstadt brand is following the lead of the platform-sharing Mk8 Volkswagen Golf, which hit the headlines by shedding its camouflage wrap earlier this year.
We can see that the new A3 features an evolutionary look, borrowing the geometric front-end shape from Audi's latest models, and doesn't adopt the smaller Audi A1's bonnet vents. Yet there's one distinctive design detail we weren't expecting: chrome strips running the length of the bodywork on each side from the headlights to the tail-lights, wrapping around the tailgate.
It's not clear yet if this will make production or if Audi is just experimenting ahead of the finished design. But if it does appear when the car is unveiled, as expected, at next March's Geneva motor show, it will mark a distinct departure from the rest of the firm's range.
Exterior design boss Andreas Mindt has already promised 'big-time' exterior design changes for Audi's Mercedes-Benz A-Class rival when talking to Autocar earlier this year.
On the new car, which will be built on the second-generation Volkswagen Group MQB architecture first entering production in the Golf, Mindt said that the company “had some really good ideas” for its new staple hatchback, promising “it’ll change, big time”.
The new A3 is one of two new compact Audis in development, the other being an electric car built on the new MEB architecture. As before, the A3 will spawn a whole range of variants, including a new five-door liftback version to rival the likes of the Mercedes-Benz CLA and upcoming BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé. A disguised S3 hot hatch prototype has also been spotted testing.
Mindt believes that compact cars have a big future still, despite the rise of SUVs. “I can see growth of compact cars and a future, absolutely,” he said. “We have really good ideas for that segment and to push it.”
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Just wondering......
...why Audi bother with styling camouflage when testing their new models?
Also wondering whether these kinds of cars will sell in good numbers when people can no longer get PCP deals on them......either by political intervention to avoid another credit crunch or greedy manufacturers constantly increasing their prices to extortionate levels.
It looks the same as the old
It looks the same as the old one, and the one before that...
Maybe with an even bigger, vulgar grille and, of course, that strange chrome thing.
new A3
first we had Dieselgate now designgate school kids can do better job or sack VG CEO they are conning customers to pay moer for the same sad sad.
Fully agree this looks very bland and much prefer the current A3
Tthe styling, if you can call it styling is very bland and just like a photocopy of Skod aand Seat ibiza the new Q3 Sportback looks way better ,If i wanted an A3 it would be the current one only.