Audi launches new A3 saloon 01 | 03 | 2011

AUDI'S ALL-NEW production version of its A3 saloon concept is being targeted directly at the US and China markets, though it's also hoped the new model — unveiled in Geneva today – could also create a new market for premium small saloons in Europe.

Revealed in Switzerland in the metal today, a week after sketches of the car were issued, the A3 saloon is 188mm shorter than the VW Jetta, and 260mm shorter than the current A4 saloon. The concept previews a new four-door variant for the next-gen A3 that will join the three-door and five-door hatchbacks and the cabriolet.

The saloon is due in Audi showrooms across Scotland in 2013 and it will join the A3 drop-top in being built at Audi’s plant in Gyor, Hungary.

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Jim McGill