2013 A3 Sportback ~ dedasdesignwarrior101

2013 A3 Sportback

Sep 20, 2012 at 5:06am ET

The Ingolstadt-based automaker Audi has released full details and photos of the upcoming 2013 A3 Sportback ahead of the car's public unveiling next week at the Paris Motor Show. Compared to its three-door sibling, the five-door model is 73mm longer and has a wheelbase of 2636mm which is 35mm longer than the one of the three-door and also 58mm longer than the outgoing A3 Sportback.

As a result of this extended length, Audi says that the rear passengers get "several more millimeters" of legroom, with enough room to accommodate three adults in the back. It can provide a boot space of 380 liters, which represents a 15 liters increase over the three-door model and 10 liters more than the model it replaces. Once the rear seats are folded down the capacity is increased to 1220 liters, compared to the three-door and the outgoing A3 Sportback that provide 1100 liters.

In comparison to the model it is about to replace, the 2013 Audi A3 Sportback is up to 90 kg lighter thanks to the adoption of the MQB platform. The five-door version fitted with the 1.4-liter TFSI engine weighs 30 kg more than the equivalent three-door model, tipping the scales at 1205 kg. As you would expect, it will borrow the engine lineup of the three-door A3 so at first it will get 1.4- and 1.8-liter TFSI gasoline engines and a 2.0-liter TDI diesels.

Later on, Audi plans on introducing a smaller 1.2-liter TFSI that produces 105 hp (77 kW) and 129 lb-ft (175 Nm) of torque. Regardless of the engine choice, all A3 Sportback models come as standard with a manual 6-speed gearbox, while for more money clients can opt for the S tronic transmission.

The 2013 Audi A3 Sportback is scheduled to hit the German dealerships in February next year, with the 1.2-liter TFSI version arriving later on at a starting price of 22,500 Euros.

More details are available in the press release below.