Audi unveils new 400PS, £50k RS3

With 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds the new RS3 is a tenth livelier than the AMG. Hardly decisive then but it’s still mission accomplished for the four rings brand, and impressive given Audi has resisted the temptation to get into a power battle with the three-pointed star.

You get just the 400PS (298kW) then, same as before and still 20PS (15kW) shy of the A45. We have a while to wait yet for the new BMW M2, third of this small-but-potent triumvirate, to see if BMW will trump the lot of them; given the new M240i already has 374PS (279kW), that would appear likely.

Extracting more performance from the same power is a neat trick and one that Audi achieves here with the latest version of the RS3’s engine. No surprise at all, that is the multi-award-winning enthusiast’s favourite five-pot, the 2.5-litre TFSi. Power might be the same as before but the curve peaks a little earlier (now at 5,600rpm) and is backed up by 20Nm more torque: now 500Nm (370lb ft) spread over a wider 2,250-5,600rpm range than before.

Transmission is as expected, a seven-speed dual-clutch job as before but with closer ratios. The characterful engine note too is unlikely to disappoint. For the first time on the RS3, exhaust flaps are fully variable so in Dynamic or RS Performance drive modes you (and your neighbours…) can fill your ears with a full five-cylinder chorus.

Top speed? That 180mph only comes with the RS Dynamic package that also adds ceramic front discs (so will be expensive). The regular RS3 is limited to 155mph while Launch and Vorsprung editions see the limiter turned up to 174mph.

To be fair, few will have concerns about the new RS3’s powertrain or performance – it is exceptional already. Some may say, however, that they seek more chassis finesse. Audi is pinning its hopes in this direction on big changes underneath: gone is the familiar rear diff with its multiple-disc clutch and in has come an electronic clutch on each of the rear driveshafts, what Audi says is a “torque splitter”.

The firm says agility is the winner, especially in press-on driving. Increasing torque to the outside rear wheel significantly reduces understeer, says Audi. The system can also direct all the torque to one rear wheel for closed-road drifts, and there is now a special mode – RS Torque Rear – to facilitate such tyre-smoking antics.

Another new drive mode is RS Performance, created for the racetrack. Like the drift mode, it uses a specific engine and transmission configuration with a torque split calculated for maximum grip. Ensuring the torque splitter, adaptive dampers and other systems get on together is a new, faster acting central brain.

Adaptive dampers are in fact an option only with the RS sports suspension, but in standard form the RS3 promises improvements, to enhance cornering as well as ride, an area some may say Audi needed to concentrate on.

Widened tracks, a 10mm lowered body, more negative camber on the front axle and stiffer bearings and subframes are other ingredients in this extensive dynamic revamp. The brakes too have come in for work with newly developed six-piston steel brakes as standard as well as the optional ceramic front discs.

All the elements of a design sportification worthy of the RS badge are present and correct here, including a wide body with wide new front RS bumper section. That’s needed to enclose the 33mm wider front track, but along with the intricate air inlets and expansive honeycomb grille it surely gives this RS3 a more dynamic, road hugging presence.

We like too the new air outlets aft of the front wheels and – inevitably, for an Audi – the state-of-the-art Matrix LED lights: these even have a little chequered flag motif built in. At the back there is an equally RS specific bumper/diffuser section while the wheels are tasty 19s with Y-shaped spokes. As for the new Kyalami Green paint, we are not yet sure…

Audi has gone for what it calls a “racing feeling” inside. Quilted Nappa leather, ambient lighting, Audi’s “virtual cockpit” display, lots of connectivity and infotainment options do not immediately come across as motorsport inspired.

It all looks pretty inviting though and, yes, there are motorsport touches here: a green-yellow-red series of blinking change-up lights, a head-up display (first time on the RS3), carbon-fibre instrument panel, a flat bottomed steering wheel with 12 o’clock stripe and die-cast zinc shift paddles, as well as displays for g-forces, lap times and acceleration.

Here’s hoping this third generation of RS3 lives up to such racy ambitions – and a design that does make the old RS3 appear a little frumpy. One thing for sure: this new one won’t be slow. Another thing for sure, it should sound fantastic. Order the latest hyper-hatch now for first deliveries by the end of the year.