New Sport Audi R3

Audi R3

Audi is readying this stunning new R3 sports car, a mid-engined little brother to the R8 supercar. Developed in conjunction with parent firm Volkswagen, the Audi R3 could arrive in five years' time, with four-cylinder power to take on the Mazda MX-5 but not enough grunt to tread on the toes of Porsche’s Boxster (now an inhouse family rival, don't forget). The Audi R3 is a replacement for the stillborn R4.

It will be co-developed with a Volkswagen sports car; we’ll see a concept of VW's version in just a few months' time, before development starts in full for launch in 2013.

So just what is this Audi R3?

Plans are still at an early stage, but sister brand VW will test the waters with a mid-engined sports car concept at the November 2008 LA Auto Show (see the current October 2008 issue of CAR Magazine for the full scoop on the sporty VW).

The Audi R3 would – in effect – replace today's TT. ‘At the moment, both programmes run alongside each other, but as soon as production engineering begins, we must decide between the competing front- and mid-engine layouts for the TT,’ explains a source from Ingolstadt. ‘To keep the Audi a safe distance from the Boxster and Cayman, we are concentrating exclusively on four-cylinder engin