“The production of Audi ‘S’ models began in 1990 with the S2 Coupé which featured the now legendary 2.2-litre in-line five-cylinder 20-valve turbo petrol engine.”
The S2 came fitted standard with quattro permanent four-wheel drive and featured a heavy-duty 5-speed manual transmission.
Fast forward to 2016, Audi has revealed its latest S3 which comes equipped with numerous interesting innovations.
Although slightly difficult to spot the differences between the new car the one it replaces, dimensions of the new car in both sedan and hatchback variants remain virtually unchanged, however, the styling has been updated to reflect new head and tail-light design changes, a further emphasized bonnet, integrated front bumper, a redesigned single-frame grille and a newly contoured rear diffuser. The Audi S3 wears also 18-inch wheels by default.
The headlights of the Audi S3 form striking new lighting graphics with jagged bottom edges. Bi-xenon units are standard. Available for the first time at an additional price in the premium compact class are the Matrix LED headlights and LED headlights. Both LED and Matrix LED headlights offer dynamic turn signals. Fifteen LEDs each produce the high beam of the Matrix LED headlights, which radiate from three reflectors. Supplied with information by the camera inside the interior mirror, their control module turns them individually on and off as required; or additionally dims them in 64 stages each.
In terms of motors, engineers working under the hood have raised power. You get an additional 18 kW and torque increases by 20 Nm. The 2.0 TFSI engine is now capable of generating a total of 228 kW and 400 Nm between 2,000 to 5,400 rpm coupled to a new seven-speed S tronic transmission. Hurdling from 0 to 100 km/h takes just 4.5 seconds, however, it only takes 4.6 seconds for both the S3 Sportback and the S3 Sedan to reach 100km/h from a standstill. The Cabriolet takes 5.1 seconds.
The Audi A3 range will be bolstered in 2017 with the launch of two Audi Sport models in the form of the RS3 Sedan and the RS3 Sportback.
Pricing
S3 Sportback quattro S tronic R 646 000
S3 quattro S tronic R 638 500
S3 Sedan quattro S tronic R 656 000
S3 Cabriolet quattro S tronic R 758 000
via ZaTopRange