The reason is simple – the RS 3 is a potent symbol of Audi progress. As the brand’s UK director Jeremy Hicks says, where once Audi could only afford to have one RS model in its range, now it is relaxed about offering three – and the RS 3 sits confidently alongside its RS 5 and TT RS siblings. This is a car that shows where Audi is confidently heading.
It’s also a car pitched as a spiritual successor to the original Audi quattro of the 1980s, both in its creation by quattro GMBH and the installation of a five-cylinder turbo petrol engine. Even the press launch was staged on the same Austrian mountain roads where the first quattro was presented to Audi’s board in 1978.
This is the first Audi compact car to wear the RS badge, and is significantly different to the stock A3. At its heart is the turbocharged five cylinder direct-injected TFSi petrol engine first seen in the TT RS.
It offers 335bhp and 332lbft of torque, which makes this car quick – very quick. Five seconds in it will be well past 60mph and going on to make use of that badge all proper performance cars wear – an electronic governor, keeping it from exceeding 155mph.
Yet it will also return 31mpg, which in a car of this potency is impressive. Several elements combine to make this possible – a trick oil pump that delivers fluid only when required, energy regeneration under deceleration but notably weight-saving measures.
It’a all about special alloys and beyond – the engine block is made of a vermicular graphite, while the front wings are moulded from carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP). Audi is fast gaining a reputation for its lightweight technology, which definitely was a factor in its latest – and tenth – Le Mans 24-hour win within days of the RS 3 launch.
The engine is matched to a seven-speed S tronic double clutch transmission while of course quattro all-wheel-drive is standard. The chassis plays a vital part too – the car sits 25mm lower than a stock A3, while its 19-inch wheels are placed wider apart than those of the A3. It has a very direct steering rack while stopping is taken care of by big vented brakes.
All of which adds up to a seriouly potent machine, but what perhaps is less obvious is the smoothness of everything. Little on the road can come close to this car in terms of performance – overtaking slower traffic for example is an almost criminally easy process completed in moments, but everything happens in such a silky, seemingly unhurried manner that belies the grunt this car has.
Quite simply, it’s a performance car you can very much live with every day. Okay it looks special with its big alloy wheels, its flared arches and sill extensions, the roof spoiler, twin elliptical exhausts and its discreet RS badges, but it doesn’t look outrageous.
Naturally if you ar eone of the lucky 50 prospective RS 3 owners you get a nice selection of toys thrown in, the electronic climate control, DVD-based sat nav, parking sensors and the like. But what you get most is a feeling of supreme quality alongside supreme performance.
The RS 3 is a sutaible standard-bearer of the quattro heritage – it’s just a pity that so few of us will get to experience it. Will there be a second production run? It’s by no means certain apparently…
Key specification:
Model Tested: Audi RS 3 Sportback
On Sale: July
Price: £39,930
Engine: 2480cc 5-cyl turbo petrol
Power (bhp): 335
Torque (lb/ft): 332
0-62mph (sec): 4.6
Top speed (mph): 155 (electronically limited)
Fuel economy (combined, mpg): 31.0
CO2 emissions (g/km): 212
Key rivals: BMW 1 Series M coupe, Mercedes C63 AMG
Test date: June 2011