Audi S3 Performance Saloon Joins The Ranks

Audi S3 has been launched at the Shanghai Motor Show to bolster Audi’s strong presence in the rewarding Chinese market. The S3 Saloon will have a 296bhp turbocharged 2.0 litre engine and four wheel drive system used in the recently launched S3 hatchback. It will be available on UK

shores later next year and will be priced around £33,000.

At some 4500mm in length, the new Audi S3 saloon is roughly the same length as the old Audi 80, the ancestor to today’s A4. It is underpinned by parent company Volkswagen’s latest front-wheel drive platform. Although the S3 saloon lacks the outright visual drama of the slightly larger Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG with which it will be compared, Audi claims that its new performance saloon will nevertheless offer greater levels of everyday practicality, accommodation and perceived quality.