Volkswagen Group’s pre-show press conference at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September, there was a lot of spectacle, a fair bit of metal and even more fighting talk from the many executives to take the stage. Audi’s time on stage – and frankly massive stand once she show had started – covered almost the whole range from the premium car maker and included a couple of exciting concept studies to boot.

One of the cars shown off in all this noise was the all-new A3 Cabriolet.

Based on the sedan version of the A3, it’s now 200mm longer than the old Cabriolet. The boot capacity has also been boosted 60 litres and is now 287 litres yet somehow the car is a good 50kg lighter than the outgoing model. This is mainly due to the VW Group’s new MQB platform – a new modular platform which has been designed to share as many parts as possible between vehicles and thus save money in production.

Audi have always been generous with their engine options, and provide something for everybody. The European model will continue that trend with 2 different TSI petrol engines (138hp 1.4-litre, 178hp 1.8-litre) and a turbo diesel with 148hp from a 2.0 litre engine.
Of course, there will also be a swanky S3 model to sit at the top of the range, sporting a 296hp 2.0-litre petrol engine.

No convertible is complete without a nice soft top and the new A3’s lightweight roof is capable of opening or closing in less than 18 seconds whilst moving up to 30mph, but we all know Audi love to stuff their cars full of technology, and the A3 Cabriolet most definitely doesn’t disappoint, with options for a Bang & Olufsen sound package, MMI Navigation and plenty more.

They’ve also released somewhat hilarious promo video which you can find below. I think Audi really need to rethink the music they use in videos…

So, what do you think? An improvement on an already successful formula? Share your thoughts in the comments and on our Facebook page.