News / 14 February 2024 / Michael Taylor

New Audi A3 launching this year – First official details revealed

The Audi A3 is due to receive a facelift in 2024, and the automaker has finally revealed the first details of what we can expect with new information and images of the high-performance S3 derivatives.

Available in both sedan and Sportback body types, the S3’s first press photos have been teased depicting the cars in a green camouflage with bright accents that help to highlight key aspects of the design.

In addition, the company has provided a handful of technical attributes, revealing that the new cars will be even more powerful with better handling.

What to expect

On the visual front, the sporty S3 is taking cues from the even more powerful RS3 units, starting with a revised front grille and air intakes with larger gaps in the pattern, which are highlighted in red on the prototype models.

The LED headlights have retained the lower teardrop-like extension seen on the current S3 but are less pronounced than before, and the four rings logo has been moved up slightly to rest on the edge of the grille rather than in the middle of it.

There’s also a new front and rear bumper, a rear diffuser, subtly reworked LED taillights, a new set of 19-inch alloy wheels with performance tyres, and an Akrapovic exhaust system.

The incoming models are a facelift and not an entirely new generation, yet the Audi is still getting an appreciable number of changes to its underlying mechanics.

It retains the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged petrol engine but this has been uprated to produce 245kW and 420Nm – a 16kW and 20Nm improvement.

However, it must be noted that the current South African S3 only generates 213kW rather than the 228kW seen in other markets so it remains to be seen how much the local S3’s power output will increase.

In any case, this upgrade means the sports car’s already fast 0-100km/h acceleration time will be reduced from 4.9 to 4.7 seconds, while its top speed of 250km/h remains unchanged.

The German carmaker has also improved the programming for its seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission for faster gear shifts, and its peak torque is now accessible across a wider rev spectrum, from 2,100rpm to 5,500rpm.

The most important addition, however, is a new rear torque splitter taken from the RS3, which greatly improves handling in the corners by ensuring optimal torque delivery to each of the rear wheels.

Smaller tweaks include enhancements to the Progressive Steering system, electronic stability control, and dampers; stiffer front wishbones; and larger ventilated front brake discs.

More information on the facelifted Audi A3 and S3 will be revealed later this year.