The current Audi A3 is a highly competent car. So competent, in fact, that we named it our Car of the Year. Now, a new report suggests there could soon be more A3 models to love.
When the next-generation A3 arrives sometimes around 2018, Audi is considering adding as many as three new body styles to either augment or supplant the four already available on the current generation, reports Automobile.
Right now, Audi makes the A3 as a four-door sedan, two-door convertible, and three- and five-door hatchbacks. We in the U.S. only get the sedan and convertible, although the upcoming A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid will be sold here as a five-door hatch.
But Audi reportedly wants to grow the lineup with a Sportback Allroad pseudo-crossover and a van. It may also replace the current three-door hatchback with a “four-door coupe” that would blend the A3 and TT lineups.
That model could be based on the TT Sportback concept from the 2014 Paris Motor Show, but be badged as the TTC in production. This would help expand the TT lineup, and would give the A3 a more stylish counterpart, aping Audi’s A6 and A7 siblings.
The Sportback Allroad would essentially be a scaled-down version of the current A4-based Allroad, using the five-door hatchback A3 as a starting point. Like the bigger Allroad, it would get a taller ride height and some plastic body cladding to create the appearance of an SUV, but would be largely the same as the original hatchback.
Rumor has it that Audi wants to give more models the Allroad treatment, including the A7 Sportback “four-door coupe.” That means we could eventually see the rival to the Volvo S60 Cross Country that no one was asking for.
Stretching segment conventions even further would be the rumored A3 van. This model could actually turn out to be more of a tall hatchback, like the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, than a true van, while offering seating for seven.
The A3 van primarily targets the Chinese market, where small van-like vehicles are apparently popular. It may not be sold in Europe or the U.S. at all.
