Photo: Via Pistonheads
It's rare that we see a customer racing production car for just $150,000 but that's exactly what we're looking at in this Audi RS3 LMS.
Built for serious competition, it's 100% legal for multiple racing series as it sits. That includes general endurance racing, touring car racing, and even the VLN Nurburgring Endurance series. It is, however, lightly used. That explains the lowish price tag.
Nevertheless, this is one fantastic racing machine for the right driver or team. Despite looking a great deal like the street legal Audi RS3 road car, it's about as far from that as it can get. The road car uses a 2.5-liter 400ish horsepower five-cylinder engine. This race car uses a 2.0-liter four-cylinder that develops just 340.
The RS3 you can buy at your local Audi dealer uses all-wheel drive. The LMS race car pushes power to the front wheels only. That's because AWD isn't legal in endurance racing. Despite these two featuring seemingly making for a slower car, we doubt that real-world lap times would confirm that.
The RS3 LMS uses a six-speed sequential transmission for one. Most importantly though it's much much lighter. The chassis and cage are the heaviest bits, being steel. Beyond that, everything else is aluminum, carbon fiber, magnesium, or composites. It tips the scales at just 2,458 pounds. As a result, it tips the scales at just 2,458 pounds. That's more than 1,000 pounds lighter than its streetcar sibling.
That should make for a very fast little car. The buyer will only have the chance to experience it on track of course. Still, the full complement of track gear should help. Inside the RS3 is an FIA GT3 approved racing seat, an onboard fire extinguisher, and three air jacks to make pit stops just that much easier. It's certainly not cheap compared to the legal RS3, but we'd say it's far more interesting.
Nevertheless, this is one fantastic racing machine for the right driver or team. Despite looking a great deal like the street legal Audi RS3 road car, it's about as far from that as it can get. The road car uses a 2.5-liter 400ish horsepower five-cylinder engine. This race car uses a 2.0-liter four-cylinder that develops just 340.
The RS3 you can buy at your local Audi dealer uses all-wheel drive. The LMS race car pushes power to the front wheels only. That's because AWD isn't legal in endurance racing. Despite these two featuring seemingly making for a slower car, we doubt that real-world lap times would confirm that.
The RS3 LMS uses a six-speed sequential transmission for one. Most importantly though it's much much lighter. The chassis and cage are the heaviest bits, being steel. Beyond that, everything else is aluminum, carbon fiber, magnesium, or composites. It tips the scales at just 2,458 pounds. As a result, it tips the scales at just 2,458 pounds. That's more than 1,000 pounds lighter than its streetcar sibling.
That should make for a very fast little car. The buyer will only have the chance to experience it on track of course. Still, the full complement of track gear should help. Inside the RS3 is an FIA GT3 approved racing seat, an onboard fire extinguisher, and three air jacks to make pit stops just that much easier. It's certainly not cheap compared to the legal RS3, but we'd say it's far more interesting.
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