Celebrating the first anniversary of A3 sedan in the country, Audi India has launched a new petrol variant of the car, christened A3 40 TFSI Premium.

The new entry-level variant is priced at Rs 25.5 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai) and is the only petrol variant in the A3 line-up. The previous Premium Plus variant, which was priced at Rs 31.4 lakh will not be sold henceforth, reports Autocar India.

The drop in price close to Rs 5 lakh has resulted in stripping out some of the features. The new base variant comes with 16-inch alloy wheels instead of 17-inch alloys and the Xenon headlamps have been replaced with the halogen units. The parking sensors are limited to the rear while fog lamps has been given a miss.

The new variant comes with high gloss package. The variant also gets lighting package plus electronically adjustable driver seat and a chrome package. Additionally, the car features automatic two-zone air conditioning with sun sensor and rear AC vents, cruise control, auto release function and driver information system.

The new variant will continue to be powered by the 1798cc, 4-cylinder petrol engine developing 177bhp at 5100-6200rpm and maximum torque of 250Nm in the range 1250-5000rpm. The engine is mated to 7-Speed S tronic transmission.

"A petrol customer is a unique customer who wants power and also efficiency at the same time. With the Audi A3 we are effectively offering the best of both to him. The Audi A3 40 TFSI offers 180 hp power and fuel efficiency of 16.6kmpl. The Audi A3 Cabriolet - India's largest selling Cabriolet is a petrol car. We are surprised with the demand for the A3 Cabriolet (which is available only in petrol). Having already exhausted the yearly allocation we have requested for higher and expect the new Audi A3 40 TFSI Premium to follow this trend," said Joe King, Head of Audi India.