JHF
Driving Dynamics Pro
One of the cars demanding attention at this year's Worthersee GTI meet is the A3 clubsport quattro concept, something Audi whipped up by combining the body of an S3 sedan with the a highly-tuned tubo-5er.
As cool as it is, we couldn't help but remember this isn't the first A3 clubsport concept ever made. Back in 2008, when the old A3 was still considered new, Audi introduced that car you see in the picture above, the TDI clubsport. It was powered by a 2-liter diesel with peak torque of 224 hp and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of torque. Despite weighing almost 1.5 tons, the car could go from 0 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in 6.6 seconds, making it faster than a GTI of that time. Top speed was equally as impressive, capped at 240 km/h (149.13 mph).
Sadly, Audi decided against putting it into production, but we hear their head honchos are considering a do-ver. This time around, the 2.0 TDI will belong to the EA288 family and will be a bi-turbo, similar to the reportedly being developed for the Passat, which is based on the same MQB platform.
Output remains unknown, but Audi already offers a 190 hp 2.0 TDI on brand new "ultra" models launched a few months ago. That figure should rise to well over 200 hp of the S badge is to stick. The S3 BiTDI can even be expected to best the old clubsport concept's numbers.
Close, but Not Hot Enough
All three of the A3's platform brothers offer the same 2-liter diesel in a performance car. It makes 184 hp and 380 Nm of torque (280 lb-ft). Volkswagen calls it the Golf GTD and markets it separately from the GTI, while Skoda offers it as part of the Octavia vRS range. SEAT's version is fitted to the FR trim level, a kind of halfway point between normal Leons and the Cupra.
All three cars are available with either a six-speed manual or DSG with just as many cogs. They take about 7.5 seconds to reach 100 km/h, making them reasonably fast. However, these performance diesels are somewhat more expensive than the equivalent 1.8 TSI turbo with similar performance numbers.
Audi does things a little differently. For example, on the A3 sedan, you can only get the 184 hp engine with a six-speed manual and FWD. You can get a twin-clutch on the A3 Sportback, but only with quattro, which boosts he buying price to Golf R levels.
Not the First S BiTDI
A potential performance diesel S3 would not be the first oil-burning S. That title has already been claimed by the SQ5. While models sold in the US only come with the supercharged 3-liter from an S5, European buyers are give a 3-liter BiTDI with 313 hp. The same mill is also available with the A6 and A7 models, but the SQ5 comes with specific trim and sports suspension.
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/audi-considering-performance-diesel-s3-bitdi-hot-hatch-81502.html
