Hot New A3 Cabriolet Set To Spawn Hotter S3 Spin-Off

If we told you that this was an image of a last-generation Audi A3 Cabriolet, you’d probably believe us. But it’s not, it’s the new one. And while it still looks pretty smokin' hot we’d have to say there’s not much interesting going on. We're told that in a few months we'll see a cheeky 296bhp S3 version, which is very interesting, however.

Pictured here in a spec that probably adds at least £5000 to the list price, the S-line range-topper does look awesome, and the fully electric roof can be folded completely out of sight. It’s a neat touch, even though it does take a yawning 18 seconds to fold up or down - at up to 31mph.

It’s 18cm longer, 2cm wider and 1.5cm lower than its predecessor, giving it a sleeker, faster-looking profile. The wheelbase has only grown by 2cm though, so that’s 16cm of additional overhang - mainly at the bum end, which has been stretched to make room for the roof.

Owners will get a free choice of comfort suspension or a ‘sports’ setup, which is 15mm lower. In our experience of previous models neither is particularly plush, while the latter can be horrific on the sorts of surfaces you find on what the British call ‘roads’.

At least you can knock around 50kg off the kerb weight despite the extra size, which might just be enough to offset the overhang issue in the handling stakes. Most of that reduction comes from the bodyshell, which with its aluminium (or 'aloominum' for our American readers) bonnet weighs a solid 30kg less than before.

The roof isn’t the only thing that retracts electrically, with the 5.8-inch colour screen also able to fold out of sight. Elsewhere in the interior you get either cloth or part-leather seats depending on the model grade, with full leather a pricey option. In a nice techy twist, from November, the A3 Cabriolet will be able to take advantage of 4G mobile intertube connectivity to create one of the fastest mobile Wi-Fi hotspots on the road.

Nothing unusual is going on under the bonnet, with the sweet spot in the range likely to be the 140-horsepower petrol with COD (that’ll be Cylinder On Demand, not Call Of Duty) technology. Two of the unit’s four cylinders shut down under low engine loads, saving you fuel and money. Otherwise it’s as-you-were for the rest of the engines. CO2, if you’re interested, starts at 110g/km. Roll on the S3 model...