THE 2010 AUDI A5 SPORTBACK and its supercharged performance-oriented S5 Sportback sibling may have centre stage for Audi at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show, but a pair of new volume-selling models are also lined up to join them.

The A3 1.2 TFSI is one of those cars, and with its 78kW/175Nm turbocharged 1.2 litre petrol four-cylinder engine, it will also be one of Audi’s most frugal.

Paired with  a six-speed manual transmission and taking power to the front wheels, the A3 1.2 TFSI offers a claimed fuel economy figure of 5.5 l/100km.

Performance figures might not be uppermost in buyers’ minds for an entry-level hatch, but Audi claims the new 1.2 litre petrol hatch will cover the 0-100km/h dash in 11.1 seconds. In A3 Sportback guise, the 1.2 TFSI hits 100km/h in 11.3 seconds.

Joining the A3 and its larger more-powerful brethren will be a new A4 variant, powered by a 3.0 litre V6 TDI common-rail diesel engine. With the quattro all-wheel-drive system down below, the 3.0 litre diesel A4 covers the 0-100km/h in just 6.3 seconds.

Already complying with the Euro VI emissions standards scheduled for introduction in 2014, the new 3.0 litre diesel A4 achieves a fuel economy of 6.7 l/100km (6.8 for the Avant).

The new 3.0 litre TDI diesel also features a new eNOX catalytic converter, designed to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions.

The new A3 and A4 variants are expected to go on sale in Europe in the first quarter of 2010. Pricing and precise release dates have yet to be released by Audi Australia.

Image note: Audi has yet to release specific images for the new A3 and A4 variants.