The Audi S3 Cabriolet has been spied testing in Germany ahead of its expected unveiling at next month’s Frankfurt motor show.
First spotted in January, the latest images show the Audi S3 sedan-based performance model wearing identical camouflage but different 18-inch alloy wheels.
The same 221kW/380Nm turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine used in the Audi S3, S3 Sportback and S3 sedan – as well as in the new Volkswagen Golf R – is expected to power the German manufacturer’s first-ever high-performance small-car-based soft-top. Six-speed manual and six-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmissions are likely to feature in the all-paw convertible.
Claiming a 0-100km/h best of 4.9 seconds in the S3 sedan – a time matched by the new Golf R and bettering the S3 Sportback by 0.1 sec – the engine will likely struggle to equal the same figure in the S3 Cabriolet’s given the additional weight of its folding roof.
Carrying over much of the sedan’s styling, the S3 Cabriolet will share its front grille and side intakes, characterful door crease, rear diffuser and quad exhaust pipes with its hard-top kin. Our spy images do reveal, however, that the performance sedan’s large boot-lip spoiler won’t be employed.
With the A3 sedan due to launch locally in early 2014, followed shortly after by the S3 sedan, the Audi S3 Cabriolet will be added to the line-up later in 2014. The convertible is also likely to command a price premium above the S3 Sportback, a model set to land in Australia in December starting at $59,900.
