PARIS MOTOR SHOW: 220kW Audi S3 debuts

Audi's A3 range has a new performance flagship – a powered-up S3 hotshot that is faster, lighter, more powerful, more economical and better sounding than its predecessor.

Fresh from stretching the new A3 into a five-door (and even promising to fit it with eco-friendly natural gas in Europe), Ingolstadt has now fitted the three-door A3 bodyshell with its all-new 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine and all-wheel drive, to show it’s still got muscle to go with all that eco practicality.

Combining both direct and indirect fuel-injection, the new 2.0-litre TFSI engine will power the S3 from 0-100km/h in 5.1 seconds, on its way to a limited 250km/h top speed.

The engine shares only its bore and stroke dimensions with the old 2.0 TFSI mill. And it's possessed of some impressive stats: it cranks out 221kW, produces an incredible 380Nm from just 1800rpm and revs out to 6800rpm. On top of all that, the engine still consumes only 6.9L/100km -- 1.5L/100km better than the old car.

Costing €38,900 in Germany when it goes on sale early next year, the new S3 also carries a host of new interior infotainment tweaks, runs the option of super-luxury style LED headlights and even has fully adjustable electro-magnetic damping as standard equipment.

You can order the new hot hatch with either a magnesium-encased six-speed manual gearbox or Audi’s S-Tronic dual-clutch transmission. The dual clutch is both faster (by 0.3sec 0-100km/h) and a tenth of a litre more economical every 100km. Win-win, apart from the extra cost and reduced left-arm and left-leg exercise.

Audi has pushed its multi-plate centre diff back to sit just ahead of the rear axle line to improve the S3’s weight distribution. Audi also separates the coil springs and the dampers at the back end, while both ends use stabilizer bars.

The front end carries an all-aluminium crash structure, bonnet and quarter panels, while its front axle line is (compared to the windscreen pillars) 52mm further forward than before.

It uses a MacPherson strut front suspension, a variable steering ratio with electro/mechanical power assistance and the car rides on 225/40 R18 wheels and tyres.

The S3 carries a host of new and (until recently) prohibitively expensive technologies, including flow-formed alloy wheels and Audi's electro-magnetic adjustable damping system.

Audi has countered industry trends towards extra mass by slashing 60kg from the weight of the outgoing S3 to tip the scales at under 1400kg. The manual gearbox makes the S3 even lighter.

Indeed, weight, and its distribution, has been a big deal with the S3. The alloy bonnet, crash structure and wings save 17kg, the flow-formed wheels are considerably lighter, it pushes weight back by tilting the east-west engine 12 degrees rearwards and the engine itself is 5kg lighter than the old engine, despite more power and a bigger turbocharger.

The new engine runs 1.2 bar of turbo boost and delivers a flat 380Nm torque peak from 1800rpm all the way to 5500rpm (the same point in the rev range as the peak power’s arrival, too), but its extra urgency doesn’t come from more boost alone. It’s still a long-stroke engine(82.5mm bore; 92.8mm stroke), but around that it gets new pistons, a tweaked block, a new crankcase, new piston rings, new conrods and an aluminium-silicon alloy for the cylinder-head.

A lot of its magic happens in the head, including the integration of the exhaust manifold so it can be bathed in coolant. This brings the car up to operational temperature faster after a cold start and has the benefit of keeping the exhaust cooler for better fuel economy.

There have also been tweaks to the valve drive system, with the addition of a two-stage valve lift setup for the exhaust valves for the 148kg engine. The intake camshaft can now be adjusted across 30 stepless degrees of timing, while that range doubles for the exhaust cam.

It's the addition of indirect injection (ridiculed not long ago as old technology) to mate up with the TFSI’s direct injection has raised eyebrows. Effectively, the S3 runs two different fuel-injection systems.

The indirect injection is more efficient at light throttle openings and low engine loads, while the 200-bar direct injection works better with harder work and higher revs, and has the side benefit of keeping the cylinder walls cooler.

Aside for that, the S3 also has a more efficient intercooler, to ensure the air entering the cylinder is cooler and gives a more efficient spark, and there are even two counter-rotating balancer shafts to make the engine feel smoother in the cabin.

There are four exhaust tips poking out of the back of the S3 on a bodyshell lowered by 25mm compared to the standard car, but they aren’t the real key to the music. Audi has given the S3 an exhaust flap to change the engine’s note, depending on the driver’s enthusiasm. It also scores an electro-mechanical resonance chamber attached to the front of the firewall to modify the engine sounds.

To keep all the go under control Audi has fitted the S3 with the biggest brakes it has yet put on a mainline production small car -- 340mm front discs and four-piston front calipers no less.

Spec check: 2013 Audi S3
Body: Three-door hatch
Price: €38,900 (Germany) on-sale
Engine: 2.0-litre DOHC TFSI four cylinder
Power: 221kW @ 5500rpm
Torque: 380Nm @ 1800-5500rpm
Maximum rpm: 6800rpm
Drive: quattro all-wheel drive
Gearbox: six-speed manual or dual clutch
Weight: 1395kg
0-100km/h: 5.1 seconds
Top speed: 250km/h
Economy: 6.9L/100km
CO2 emissions: 159 grams/km
Length/width/height: 4254/1777/1435mm
Wheelbase: 2959mm
Track front/rear: 1535/1511mm
Wheels: 7.5J x 18
Tyres: 225/40 R18

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