Audi Drops Another Top, But Not in the U.S.
According to Andrew Lipman, Audi Spokesman, the Audi A3 Cabriolet will not be available for the American consumers since the A3 Coupe, to which the convertible is based was also not for sale in the U.S.
The A3 Cabriolet will be available in four engine variations: 1.9-liter and 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesels, and 1.8-liter and 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engines. Initially, the convertible will be available in the all-wheel drive version and not Audi’s exclusive Quattro all-wheel drive.
Although the A3 Cabriolet’s price has not been fixed yet, according one Audi spokesman, the price will be around £20,000. Audi expects that they will be able to sell about 4,500 units on the car’s first year and another 1,000 units on its second year.
One analyst heralded the Audi A3 Cabriolet’s arrival. “It’s gorgeous, they should have done it years ago,” said Christoph Stuermer, a director of product development in the global automotive group of Global Insight in Germany. “They just dragged their feet because they couldn’t muster the money, and they weren’t sure that there would be enough demand for these types of cars, i.e., very small and very expensive. With BMW pulling the 1 Series Cabriolet out of the hat, that gave them the motivation, the kick to finally do it.”
Though Stuermer hadn’t yet driven the new A3 Cabriolet, he said he liked its looks. “The roof folds very low, it doesn’t stick out in any way,” he said. “It just tells you this car is built for looking good.”
