Photo: Audi
Following the redesigned A3 and S3, the four-ringed automaker from Ingolstadt has launched the all-new RS 3 in the United States. Only available with four doors, the five-cylinder sedan retails at $58,900.
Add the $1,095 destination charge to the tally, and you’re looking at $59,995 for a compact. A single trim level is offered, along with a dual-clutch S tronic gearbox alternately known as DSG in the Mk VIII Golf R.
The online configurator also lists quattro all-wheel drive with electronically-controlled multiple disc clutches for the rear drive shafts. In other words, the RS 3 can distribute the drive torque between the rear wheels for better stability in the wet and improved agility when cornering.
Showboating is also possible. Up to 100 percent of the rear torque can be sent to the outside rear wheel to instigate a slide, and the system balances torque side to side to keep it going as if you’re Ken Block. An electronic gimmick, albeit a fun one of those, RS Torque Rear mode comes with a warning message that recommends using it solely on a closed circuit.
The most powerful five-cylinder engine used by Audi for series-production applications, the EA855 evo is a 2.5-liter unit with 401 horsepower and 369 pound-feet on deck. In European specification, make that 400 ps (395 hp).
0.3 seconds quicker to 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) than its predecessor, the RS 3 needs only 3.6 seconds. Keep your foot planted, and the speedometer will eventually read 180 miles per hour (290 kilometers per hour) as long as you specify the Dynamic plus package. This $5,500 option further adds ceramic front brakes, steelies out back, red calipers, and a carbon-fiber engine cover for extra pizzazz. Exterior finishes number eight colors and a mystery ninth option, an “Audi exclusive special paint color.”
Last but certainly not least, $450 buys you a set of semi-slick tires. The Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R rubber boots aren’t for the faint of heart, though, because they have extremely little grip at temperatures under 50 degrees Fahrenheit (make that 10 degrees Celsius) or in wet/snowy driving conditions.
The online configurator also lists quattro all-wheel drive with electronically-controlled multiple disc clutches for the rear drive shafts. In other words, the RS 3 can distribute the drive torque between the rear wheels for better stability in the wet and improved agility when cornering.
Showboating is also possible. Up to 100 percent of the rear torque can be sent to the outside rear wheel to instigate a slide, and the system balances torque side to side to keep it going as if you’re Ken Block. An electronic gimmick, albeit a fun one of those, RS Torque Rear mode comes with a warning message that recommends using it solely on a closed circuit.
The most powerful five-cylinder engine used by Audi for series-production applications, the EA855 evo is a 2.5-liter unit with 401 horsepower and 369 pound-feet on deck. In European specification, make that 400 ps (395 hp).
0.3 seconds quicker to 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) than its predecessor, the RS 3 needs only 3.6 seconds. Keep your foot planted, and the speedometer will eventually read 180 miles per hour (290 kilometers per hour) as long as you specify the Dynamic plus package. This $5,500 option further adds ceramic front brakes, steelies out back, red calipers, and a carbon-fiber engine cover for extra pizzazz. Exterior finishes number eight colors and a mystery ninth option, an “Audi exclusive special paint color.”
Last but certainly not least, $450 buys you a set of semi-slick tires. The Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R rubber boots aren’t for the faint of heart, though, because they have extremely little grip at temperatures under 50 degrees Fahrenheit (make that 10 degrees Celsius) or in wet/snowy driving conditions.
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