The Ingolstadt-based luxury automaker is trying to come out of its self-imposed boring cone of shadow and catch up to its classic BMW and Mercedes-Benz rivals with an onslaught of refreshed and all-new models, both ICE-powered and all-electric.
For example, they just presented the fresh Audi RS 4 Avant 'edition 25 years' and the RS 5 Sportback 'performance edition' in Europe – where just 250 examples of each will be available for big and juicy MSRPs. However, soon enough, they will make way for stuff like the new RS 5 Avant and Sportback, as the sedan and wagon will join the A5 series when the A4 goes e-tron.
The company is ditching the engine numerals (55 TDI, 45 TFSI, etc.) to stop confusing us but will also move all ICE-powered models to off numbers while the even ones are reserved for the all-electric models. For example, the all-new Q6 e-tron is the EV sibling of the upcoming Q5, and so forth. Of course, some models are safe – like the big Q7 crossover SUV or the tiny Q3 subcompact.
Speaking of the latter, the rumor mill believes it won't take long to see it on the market with a fresh design that may include the controversial split-headlight styling inspired by many of Audi's competitors. Twinned with the Cupra Terramar but closer in style to the Audi Q6 e-tron, the third-generation Q3 will be launched later this year as a 2025MY, and it's already being spied with less camouflage than before – all while giving its MQB Evo underpinnings a run for their test and development money.
No worries. If you want this little CUV to ditch all of the camouflage ahead of the official OEM presentation, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators has already covered us for some time. The latest to try and see under the dizzy camouflage are the good folks over at the AutoYa info channel on YouTube – they, too, have unofficially envisioned the CGI looks of the upcoming 2025 Audi Q3 subcompact luxury CUV.
One thing to note, though, is that the channel's host mistakenly believes the 2025 or 2026 Audi Q3 will arrive on the market with a simple facelift – in fact, everyone across the rumor mill believes that the Ingolstadt-based automaker will directly introduce the third-generation. The confusion is easy to explain – Audi didn’t give it an official mid-cycle refresh; it just organically added more stuff to the family, like the Sportback version in 2019 or a fresh PHEV option in Europe in 2021.
On the other hand, the resident pixel master isn’t slacking around – this is a new set of unofficial renderings (they also embedded the old ones towards the end of the video presentation tucked below) complete with fresh color options and their hypothetical vision of the exterior and interior design. The classic old versus new comparison is not missing in action, just like the interior shades are also nice and ritzy. So, what do you think? Will the next Audi Q3 look anything like this design project?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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