The latest-generation Audi A3 Sedan has given rise to a long-wheelbase version for the Chinese market, according to Chinese website Auto163. Where the long-wheelbase Audi sedans have traditionally worn the ‘L’ suffix, the unit photographed here appears to wear standard badging on its bootlid.
Based on the second-generation sedan, the images here sourced by the Chinese website reveal the compact sedan to feature front and rear ends which are identical to those on the European car, where at the front the Singleframe grille is bookended by headlamps and bumper of the same design, while the rear bumper similarly has carried over the same lower trim and bumper inserts.
Where the stretched A3 Sedan adds its own flourish of detail is in the bootlid, the China-specific car here gaining a slightly taller bootlid spoiler. The second image also offers a rear-end perspective offers some indication of the long-wheelbase A3’s stretched proportions, where the growth appears to be located between the B- and C-pillars for added rear occupant legroom.
In regular wheelbase guise, the A3 Sedan measures 4,500 mm long, 1,820 mm wide and 1,430 mm tall with a 2,637 mm wheelbase, while luggage capacity is 425 litres; the exact increase in length offered by the China-market A3 Sedan remains to be disclosed.
While the European A3 Sedan received two engine options at launch – a 150 PS/360 Nm 35 TDI 2.0 litre turbodiesel and a 150 PS/250 Nm 35 TFSI 1.5 litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG – the China-market A3 Sedan will get the latter petrol unit as the sole choice, most likely paired to the dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
Possibly carried over for the Chinese A3 Sedan is the European car’s infotainment system, which features a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.1-inch MMI touch display as standard; the European-market A3 also gets the full-spec 12.3-inch Audi virtual cockpit plus with richer graphics and feature set.
The long-wheelbase Audi A3 Sedan for China will be manufactured at the FAW-Volkswagen China joint venture plant in Qingdao, and is expected to be launched for the Chinese market by the end of the year.
GALLERY: 2021 Audi A3 Sedan
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