The hottest hatch of all hot hatches, the upcoming Audi RS3, has been spotted testing on the Nurburgring in Germany, and we have pictures. It may look like an S3 on the outside, but it’s sporting the guts of the high-performance RS3 underneath.

Expect it to receive the same 2.5-liter, five-cylinder turbo engine found in the TT RS, but tuned to more than 330 hp giving it a 0 to 60 time of less than 5 seconds. The engine will be paired with Audi’s S tronic transmission with the quattro system putting down power to all four wheels.

Plenty of interior and exterior changes will give the RS3 a more aggressive look than the S3. We expect Audi to unveil the RS3 officially later this year. Will it make it here to the States? Probably not, unfortunately, but we can always dream.

Check out more info and pictures at AutoExpress

Audi is giving their Facebook fans the Green Police Super Bowl ad a bit early. The ad, which will be shown during Sunday’s game, features the Audi A3 TDI being praised by the Green Police during a “green crackdown.” The 60 second spot is actually a compilation of many of the other Green Police videos already shown.

The fact that Audi is advertising the A3 TDI really speaks to the current economic climate, and I hope will help get diesel technology out to the masses.

Here’s the video:

Check out Audi’s Facebook fan page for some other Green Police videos and info.

For the third year in a row, Audi will be advertising on the Super Bowl. For the first year, Audi premiered a clever Godfather-style ad for the R8. Last year, they made a short action film based around the A6. This year Audi will feature the A3 TDI – awarded “Green Car of the Year” by Green Car Journal. Can you tell the direction the auto industry is heading here? Featuring the A3 TDI is a very smart move on Audi’s part, and will likely bring in a lot of buyers. This will also help out the diesel market in general, which will be a positive step, especially in the US market.

The Super Bowl ad will feature 70’s rock band Cheap Trick reinterpreting one of their old songs for the ad. Interesting.

The Audi A3 TDI gets an incredible 42 MPG on the highway, which is into hybrid-level territory without the hybrid price premium. The A3 TDI accounts for 53% of the United States’ A3 sales, showing positive movement towards diesel returning to the mainstream.

The compact A3 will soon have another engine choice along with the many engines available in the UK. The new low-displacement 1.2 TFSI will join the ranks, providing 105 hp and getting about 43 mpg thanks to the power of forced induction. The 1.2 TFSI engine is completely redesigned, and is very lightweight (only 197 lbs,) which Audi achieved after using an aluminum crankcase and a few tricks to keep the engine light.

Most of the engine’s torque is available at low RPMs (129 ft/lbs at 1,500 – 3,500 RPM) which helps keep the car feel responsive off the line. As expected from 1.5 hp, the 0-62 mph time is 11.1 seconds – slower than the Toyota Prius hybrid (though I’m sure it’s more fun.) Boost the turbo pressure a bit and you’ll get a few more horsepower out of it.

The 1.2 TFSI powered A3 will go on sale in Europe early next year with a FWD layout and 6-speed manual transmission, with more options coming later. I doubt the car will be available here in the States any time soon; I don’t see too many Americans going crazy over a 105 hp hatch, especially at the price of an Audi. I’m sure it will do well overseas though. In the mean time, I’ll go take a look at the A3 TDI.

2009 Audi A3 Sportback

VW of America announced a voluntary recall of about 16,000 VW and Audi models due to a faulty temperature sensor in the DSG transmission. The recall only applies to certain models built between September 2008 and August 2009, including the VW Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, GTI, and Eos, as well as Audi’s 2009 A3, TT and TT Roadster.

According to Audi of America, “Some customers with the affected vehicles have experienced illuminated warning lamps in the dashboard, and in rare instances, reported that the transmission went into neutral.” Volkswagen will be contacting affected customers within the coming weeks, but if you’re among those with a recalled vehicle, contact your dealer right away or call Volkswagen at (800) 444-8982 or Audi at (800) 253-2834.

Audi is introducing two new engines to the A3 line-up in Europe, both focusing on a significant improvement in efficiency. The engines are the same size – 1.6-liters – and are both diesel-powered TDIs. The more powerful of the two engines, at 105 horsepower, will achieve over 57 mpg, well into and above the range of gasoline-powered hybrid cars. This engine uses the same start/stop and energy recovery system as the A4 2.0 TDI e, which shuts off the engine when stopped and uses regenerative braking to recover energy normally lost when slowing down. This engine will propel the lightweight A3 from 0-62 mph in 11.4 seconds, which isn’t bad for a car that gets 57 mpg.

The other newly available engine is also a 1.6-liter TDI, but produces only 90 hp, and gets slightly less fuel economy at 52 mpg. This engine does not use the same start/stop and energy recovery system as the more powerful engine, but still gets good fuel economy, and has a decent 170 lb-ft of torque which gives it a 0-62 mph time of 12.9 seconds.

The 90 hp version will start at 22,550 Euros ($32,242 USD,) and the 105 hp car will be 23,550 Euros ($33,672 USD.) I couldn’t see any reason to choose the 90 hp version over the 105 hp alternative, especially with only a 1,000 Euro price difference. The engines will be available for order immediately.

Due to high demand in the US for smaller and more fuel efficient engines, Audi says they will be dropping the 3.2-liter V6 from the A3, A4, and TT for the 2010 model year in the States. I happen to like this smooth engine quite a bit, but the numbers show that it might not be worth it. The 2.0T engine offered in the A4 makes only 54 horsepower less power, and gets 4mpg better fuel economy than the V6. The four-cylinder also happens to get 15 lb-ft of torque more than the six.

Audi also states that there could be a possible overlap with this engine and the upcoming supercharged V6 in the S4 model. I wouldn’t see that creating any problems, but who am I to say? They hope their plans which include the A3 TDI, TT RS, and S4 will fill the gap left by the absence of the 3.2 V6.