Last month, Audi introduced its version of the Merc-AMG A 45, but with slightly more power and admittedly better looks – the Audi RS 3 Sportback. It’s also marginally quicker than the Affalterbach-bred mega hatch, but Audi is far from done.
Unveiled on the prestigious floors of Geneva Motor Show is the Audi RS 3 Sedan, the first compact Audi model to ever be given the RS badge. Armed with the most powerful five-cylinder engine in the world, the compact Audi epitomises the saying “good things come in small packages”. The all-aluminium 2.5-litre TFSI lump is turbocharged to make 400 hp and 480 Nm of torque, sending it from 0 to 100 km/h in a blistering 4.1 seconds.
Peak torque is available from a lowly 1,700 revolutions, all the way to 5,850 rpm. Top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h as standard, but customers can request for the cap to be raised to 280 km/h for a small sum. A sole seven-speed S tronic dual clutch transmission is standard, as is the quattro all-wheel drive system (hydraulic clutch). It’s largely rear bias as well, with about 80 percent of power being sent rearward.
Just like the TT RS, it’s underpinned by the ever flexible MQB platform of the VW Group. The RS duo represent the gnarliest variations to ever sit atop the MQB architecture, and if you were to race them on a circuit, the TT RS would outgun the RS 3 Sedan, but not by a huge margin. Standard here are RS-specific body kit, 19-inch RS wheels shod with 235/35 section tyres and RS interior embellishments.
IMAGE GALLERY
