The all-new 2014 A3Sportback is the star of Audi's show here at the 2012 Paris Motor Show.
This is the second iteration of the all-new A3 to be seen. Yes, it looks a lot like the old one, but it's an all-new car underneath, one that is much more economical, bigger and better-quality inside — and, we're told, more able on the road.
Also on display are the RS 5 Cabriolet, the impeccably finished and detailed S3 300-horsepower premium hot hatch, and the face-lifted R8. No surprises here.
However, Audi did shock onlookers with its concept car, the Crosslane. It features a futuristic aluminum and carbon-fiber space-frame chassis that's designed to leave key structural elements on show. It's partly born through frustration from the engineers; Audi has all this futuristic technology, a spokesman told us, but nobody knows about it because the car bodies hide it all.
The Crosslane concept showcases this technology using minimized body panels and on-display structural parts such as the distinctive Audi grille.