Although it is yet to be officially released internationally, the new Audi A3 Sportback continues the tradition started by the original model of pushing the boundaries and continuously reinventing its own segment.

With this, the fourth generation of the car that started the compact luxury class, the design gets sharper again and the level of appointment and technology employed onboard, comes straight from the large luxury class.

Here, Audi designer Immo Redeker, homes in on some of the elements that set this new Audi A3 Sportback apart from its predecessors. From the integration of the current Audi design language through the wider, lower Singleframe grille, to the revised lighting systems front and rear which give the new A3 models (A3 Sportback and A3 Sedan) their own distinctive light signatures depending on the vehicle specification.

Then there is what is called the ‘negative’ panels employed along the flanks, a design element that gives a sculptural feel to both the Sportback and Sedan models that makes them look not only more muscular, but as if they have been carved from a solid block.

Although obviously the Australian specification will not be available until closer the new model’s arrival here, the overall design theme and execution from the entry model onwards is more sporty. The overall appearance is wider and lower, with elements such as the roof spoiler far more exaggerated than ever before.

Inside too, the design is all-new, with an even more driver-centric treatment to the dash area – most notably the driver facing air vents and the positioning of the internal screens. Indeed this new A3 Sportback embraces Audi’s new digital age with the the virtual cockpit and twin touch screens now familiar in the brand’s large luxury vehicles, right at home in the A3 Sportback.

The clean, minimalist design though has been interpreted specifically for the A3 range as opposed to just adapted from other Audi models. It has its own unique style and elements, including the new, minimalist gear selector and in selected models, even unique materials have been employed for the first time, like the recycled PET bottles now repurposed as car upholstery on some variants.

The qualities that have made the A3 Sportback such a resounding international success from the start – arresting design, class-leading luxury appointment and cutting-edge technology – remain very much at the very heart of the new A3 Sportback.