2021 Audi S3 Sportback And Sedan Ditch All Camouflage As They Tackle The Nürburgring

Audi does not bother camouflaging the all-new S3 anymore as these latest spy shots taken at the Nürburgring reveal.

Two 2021 Audi S3 prototypes were spotted on and around the Nordschleife, a black Sportback hatch and a Riviera Blue sedan. None of them featured camouflage, allowing us to spot the styling tweaks over the regular A3 models.

As always, the S3 models adopt an understated appearance, with the most noticeable upgrades being the quad round exhausts flanking a rear diffuser, larger honeycomb inserts in the grille, and bigger side air intakes in the front bumper. The rear bumper features honeycomb inserts as well echoing those at the front, with the larger wheels and brakes rounding out the changes.

Watch: 2020 Audi S3 Prototype Review Finds It A Better All-Rounder Than Its Predecessor

In addition, the 2021 Audi S3 Sedan prototype features an add-on deck lid spoiler, black window trim, black side mirrors, and black roof. We can’t tell if the latter is made of carbon fiber but that would be a very nice surprise.

Our photographers did not manage to catch a glimpse of the interior but you should not expect big upgrades compared to the regular Audi A3 in S-line grade. Standard sports seats, a chunkier steering wheel, red accents and possibly carbon fiber trim should be on the list.

Under the hood, the 2021 Audi S3 will feature a 2.0-liter TFSI turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine with around 300 horsepower, an S-tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission and standard quattro all-wheel drive.

Combined with adaptive suspension and electromechanical progressive steering, the latest evolution of the quattro system will deliver “composed, surefooted and incisive driving characteristics”, according to Audi.

Tailored specifically to suit the new S3, the electronic torque distribution has been integrated in the Audi drive select dynamic handling system. More importantly, quattro distributes the torque with full variability between the front and rear axles.

Under normal driving conditions, most of the torque goes to the front wheels, but when the front loses grip, up to 100 percent of drive torque is transmitted to the rear axle – effectively turning the A3 into a rear-wheel-drive car.