Based on the Volkswagen MQB platform of the Golf R, the RS 3 is more than a souped-up Golf R. What sets it apart from its cousin is a five-cylinder turbo with an R8 V10-esque sound quality to it.
The four-door sedan in the video below isn't your usual RS 3, though. It's the so-called Performance version, which premiered in October 2023 with the highest speed in the segment. Ingolstadt's favorite son quotes 300 kilometers per hour (make that 186 miles per hour) as opposed to 290 kilometers per hour (180 miles per hour) for the regular version with the RS Dynamic Package.
Lower down the spectrum, the RS 3 is much obliged to reach 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour) as standard. Coincidentally, that's also the top speed of the M4 Coupe-twinned M2 Coupe. Customers who pony up a few more euros for the M Driver's Package can lift the top speed to 285 kilometers per hour (177 miles per hour), which makes the M2 a tad slower than the RS 3.
On a long enough stretch of Autobahn, that is. But when it comes to a kilometer-long drag race on a long straight, you'll be surprised to find out that BMW's most purist M car in production today has the edge on the RS 3. Pictured at the Lurcy-Levis circuit in France, the compact thrillers finished the standing kilometer in 21.6 seconds for the Audi and 21.5 for the Bimmer. Of course, the M2 got off the line worse because it's exclusively rear-wheel drive.
Heavier than the Audi, the Bavarian coupe from Mexico tips the scales at 1,730 kilograms (3,814 pounds) compared to 1,614 kilograms (3,558 pounds) for the all-paw-drive sedan. We also have to remember that BMW sandbags like there's no tomorrow. The S58 twin-turbo I6 engine in the M2 is known to develop more power and torque than the officially advertised 460 metric horsepower (454 horsepower) and 550 Nm (406 pound-feet).
In combination with the ZF-supplied automatic transmission and BMW's unnervingly capable launch control, the M2 is a pretty quick straight-line bruiser. Had it been a quarter mile rather than a kilometer, chances are the RS 3 would have won against the more driver-focused G87 M2.
Speaking of which, the G87 is expected to get a slightly more powerful engine in August 2024 for the 2025 model year. There's also talk of xDrive getting added to the options list, which seems only natural because the M4 Coupe is available with M xDrive as well. Both of them feature BMW's CLAR platform, which isn't going away anytime soon despite the introduction of the Neue Klasse in 2025 in the form of a 3 Series-sized car and X3-sized SUV.
As for the RS 3, it appears that Audi plans to go electric. This generation of the A3 is believed to switch to the SSP platform in 2027 or 2028, an electric vehicle architecture that will eventually replace the MEB and PPE. It's also worth mentioning that Audi EVs will get even numbers compared to odd numbers for combustion-engined vehicles, meaning that the next-gen A3 and performance-oriented RS 3 may receive different names.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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