A3 Cabrio on its way

Audi continues to expand the already broad range of product available to local consumers with the news that the A3 Cabrio has been earmarked for Australia and will go on sale in July this year.

For the local market, the drop-top A3 will offer a selection of engines including the 1.6-litre naturally aspirated four combined with a manual transmission, 1.8-litre TFSI direct-injection turbo engine with S tronic transmission (like a DSG, but not in so many words!) and the 2.0-litre TFSI available with both manual and S tronic transmissions.

As we mentioned in our original report (more here), the Audi follows hard on the heels of the BMW 1 Series Cabrio and the local on-sale date looks set to introduce the car to the Australian public right about the same time as the BMW hits town.

Audi will offer both a semi-automatic folding roof as standard and a fully automatic version as an option. The former can be raised and lowered within nine seconds, according to Audi, and stores in a compact 'Z-fold' configuration to reduce the space required to store it when lowered.

For the latter half of this year, Audi expects to sell 120 units of the new car. Volkswagen typically sells that many of the Eos in a month, so Audi's forecast -- admittedly a conservative figure, we would suggest -- is possibly an indicator of the way Audi will position and price the car, although the importer will not reveal any further pricing or specification details until closer to the car's on-sale date.

The A3 Cabriolet is expected to appeal to buyers ranging in age from 25 to 54 years of age. Visitors to the Melbourne International Motor Show will be able to see the new model up close and personal.

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