The next Audi A3 will be electric, it is not a novelty, but it is worth remembering. But it will not only be electric, it will also be a propulsion model and not a front-wheel drive, also having all-wheel drive versions by having two motors, one for each axle. It is curious to see how the arrival of electricity to the automobile will make certain things return, such as propulsion, abandoned by a huge number of manufacturers decades ago, in favor of front-wheel drive.
But let’s leave aside which wheels will move the car, because now that matters little, and let’s go with other questions. The next generation of the Audi A3, already converted into an electric car, is expected to be ready by 2026 or 2027 and will be based on the Volkswagen Group’s SSP (Scalable Systems Platform) architecture, the same one that will be released with the launch of the next Volkswagen ID.4 sedan, which is currently under development under the internal name “Project Trinity”. It will also support an Audi model that is now known as the Apollon, as well as several models from other firms in the consortium. Audi refused to use the MEB platform that is used in other current models, such as the Audi Q4 e-Tron or the Škoda Enya.
This is because the new SSP platform offers some advantages over the MEB platform. For example, the height of the floor is lower and allows greater modularity to differentiate the models from each other. It is also designed to support a new 800-volt electrical architecture, which would mean faster charges, up to 270 kW, being able to recharge just over 120 kilometers in around 10 minutes. The autonomy it could offer is around 700 kilometers. It is also worth mentioning that the SSP platform is intended to adopt solid-state batteries, although it is not planned to be offered in the Audi A3.
While the normal versions will have a single engine placed on the rear axle, the most powerful ones will have two engines, one on each axle. Among these performance versions, the already legendary Audi RS3 stands out, which will also be present in the next electric range, something that should also happen with the Audi S3. According to reports that have been published, the next RS3 e-Tron (we don’t know if it will finally be called that) should be faster in acceleration, than the current RS3 with a combustion engine and should offer better control of the power delivery and less loss of adhesion due to its vector distribution of torque. It should be remembered that electric motors offer better acceleration than combustion motors, with better control of the torque that reaches the asphalt as they can be more easily controlled electronically.
When it hits the market, the next Audi A3 e-Tron will have a five-door sedan body. Both with an increase in dimensions compared to the current models, being also the smallest model that Audi will manufacture in its next electric phase. The Audi A1 and the Audi Q2 will not have continuity in the range when the current generations are withdrawn.
