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The Audi A3 Sedan is a fve-
passenger car. It is powered by
an in-line, four-cylinder, turbo
direct-injection engine—there
is a 170-hp 1.8-liter for front-
wheel drive and a 220-hp 2.0-
liter for quattro versions—that
features a cast-iron block and
aluminum head. Both engines
require premium fuel. The
engine is mated to a six-speed,
dual-clutch transmission. The
chassis features McPherson
struts in the front with lower
A-arms and stabilizer bars;
there is a four-link rear
suspension setup. The steering
is electromechanical.
Structurally, the car makes use
of extensive amounts of high-
strength (including ultra-high,
hot-stamped) steels, as well
as aluminum (e.g., decklid,
package tray, suspension
components). The curb weight
for the 1.8 is 3,175 lb.; it is
3,362 lb. for the 2.0.
The A3 Sedan is the frst
vehicle in North America
to offer a 4G LTE data
connection; Audi has partnered
with AT&T; on this capability.
The vehicle is offered with
Bang & Olufsen audio, NVIDIA
graphics processing
for infotainment,
Google Earth
navigation, and
other features.
q Dany Garand drawing the A3 Sedan. Literally drawing the car.
in Germany (and elsewhere). (And the
Sportback will be coming to America
late in 2015 as a plug-in hybrid model.)
There is another A3 variant with a
trunk. The A3 Cabriolet. "The Cabrio
and the Sedan are the same up to the
A-post," Garand says. He also says that
the two have the same front and rear
bumper. "We had to design these two
cars together to make sure they would
both look good." The Cabrio, which has
two doors, not four, has a shorter length
(174.1 in. vs. 175.4 in.) and a smaller
wheelbase (102.2 in. vs. 103.8 in.), so
the proportions had to be right for both.
And speaking of smaller, Garand says
that while in the process of designing
the Sedan he was also involved in
designing the new TT at the time,
which is a smaller vehicle compared to
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