While the swirly black-and-white wrapping continues to make the final styling somewhat of a mystery, the, for now, sportiest version of the regular A3 is identified by a black honeycomb grille, wider front air vents, quad exhaust outlets and newly designed five-spoke alloy wheels.
As mentioned though, the main drawing card of the test mule pictured by carscoops.com, is a brief view of the interior, which in this model sees the application of the 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit Display instrument display and the smaller 10.1-inch display for the MMI infotainment system.
Featuring air vents slanted towards the driver similar to the Lamborghini Urus, the prototype also sports a leather wrapped three-spoke steering wheel with aluminium inlays and paddle shifters, the latter confirming that the S3 will come equipped with the seven-speed S tronic gearbox.
Like the A3, the S3 will only be offered in five-door Sportback guise at launch and ride on the widely used MQB platform, with motivation set to once again come from a 2.0 TFSI petrol that will output more than the current model’s 228kW/400Nm. As ever, Audi’s rival for the Mercedes-AMG A35 and forthcoming BMW M130i X Performance will be fitted as standard quattro all-wheel drive.
Unlike the S3, Audi is slated to unveil the A3 at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
