New Audi A3 Spy Photos Show Hatchback Hiding Its Design Changes

The fourth-generation Audi A3 isn’t that old, but that’s not stopping the automaker from redesigning it. New spy photos capture the camouflaged A3 cold-weather testing, and the new looks could coincide with a new name on the jacked-up variant – the Allstreet.

The new A3 is shown wearing camouflage on the fascias and along the lower body, hiding minor styling changes. The model is already a stunner, with Audi likely massaging the design. This example looks to ride a tad higher than the typical A3 Sportback hatch, and it could take after the new A1 Allstreet and adopt the suffix, possibly supplanting the Allroad name on the smaller, jacked-up runabout.

Audi likely plans to debut the new A3 Allstreet alongside the rest of the redesigned lineup. Our photographers have already spied the A3 sedan, S3, and RS3 variants. The entire lineup is getting the mid-cycle makeover treatment. However, while the exterior will receive some love, we have yet to capture the car’s interior to see if Audi plans on making any significant changes to the cabin’s layout. The company could make a few tweaks.

We don’t know if Audi plans to make any changes to the car’s powertrain lineup. The S3 delivers 306 horsepower (229 kilowatts) from its turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, while the RS3’s turbocharged 2.5-liter five-cylinder pumps out 401 hp (299 kW). Previous test cars have featured a charging port on the front left fender, suggesting that a plug-in hybrid powertrain is in the cards.

The Audi A3 will one day serve as the brand’s entry-level model. The automaker already has plans to discontinue the A1 after this generation, giving the A3 the role of welcoming customers into the Audi brand. We don’t know when Audi will make the switch, but we do know there will be one more generation of the model, and it’ll be a battery-electric vehicle when it arrives later this decade.

Audi hasn’t announced when it’ll reveal the new A3, but we expect it to break cover before the end of the year and be on sale for the 2024 model year. The company could stagger the model’s rollout, revealing the regular A3 first before showcasing the hotter S3 and RS3 variants later.