IT WOULD be simple to dismiss the brand new RS3 as being a re-shell of the outdated one. In any case, the shape issue is acquainted – take your decide of a 5 door ‘Sportback’ hatch or a trad four-door sedan – the engine stays the model’s acquainted 2.5-litre turbo inline 5, a seven-speed dual-clutch auto continues to be the one transmission choice, and the important metric of peak energy has stayed static at 294kW.
However larger modifications lie underneath the pores and skin, ones that not solely make the 2023 Audi RS3 a quicker automobile than its predecessor, however modifications that basically alter the character and functionality of Audi’s giant-slaying hyper hatch.
Let’s begin with the engine. Sure, it’s largely the identical alloy-blocked 2.5-litre inline 5 as earlier than, however whereas peak energy stays at 294kW, that determine is now arrived at 1400rpm decrease within the rev vary at 5600rpm. Torque can also be up by 20Nm, with the utmost 500Nm of twist on faucet at simply 2250rpm, and lasting proper up till 5600rpm.
One other key change is the adoption of a brand new exhaust system that locations a fully-variable diverter valve within the pipes, permitting the exhaust observe of that iconic five-cylinder to be modulated with extra precision and leading to higher sonics consequently. Critics of the last-gen RS3’s exhaust observe, which was strangled when the mannequin adopted a petroleum particulate filter in a 2020 replace, might be happy to notice that the brand new RS3 doesn’t undergo the identical subject – that Indignant Audi soundtrack is effectively and really again.
Extroverts can even admire the RS3’s pumped-up bodywork, with dramatically widened entrance guards mirroring the wide-hipped rear arches, and purposeful ducts within the entrance bumper directing air towards the mammoth 375mm brake rotors and a vertical air extraction vent between the entrance doorways and the quarter panel.
The RS3’s kind clearly follows its perform, however Audi’s designers have succeeded in making it look imply and purposeful whereas concurrently holding the engineers and aerodynamicists glad. It appears significantly tasty in Python Yellow, Turbo Blue or Kyalami Inexperienced, and there’s loads to visually differentiate the RS3 from its S3 brother – in any case, given the $20K distinction in value between them you wouldn’t need bystanders to confuse your RS3 for a mere S3. The headlamp DRLs that spell out “R-S-3” upon start-up are a neat contact too.
There’s loads of efficiency chunk to match the visible bark, nevertheless. A boxer’s fancy footwork may look spectacular, but it surely means nothing till they begin touchdown punches – and the RS3 punches arduous.
The engine is essentially a recognized amount, however the further torque and shift in energy supply grants the RS3 appreciable low-down urge. When you get previous some minor turbo lag it pulls relentlessly proper up till its 7000rpm redline, all of the whereas emitting that lovely five-cylinder thrum from its tailpipe – punctuated with a muffled sneeze from the turbo recirc valve on throttle lifts. The seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch auto pairs effectively with the powerplant, delivering ultra-quick shifts by way of the paddles, and clever shift mapping when left in regular or sport auto modes. With launch management, the combo is nice sufficient for a 3.8-second 0-100km/h dash.
However there are two essential mechanical upgrades which are standard-issue on the RS3 that do essentially the most to inject a extra raucous persona and larger efficiency.
The primary is its RS Torque Splitter and its attendant RS Torque Rear drive mode: a correct mechanical torque-vectoring system built-in inside the rear differential that may divvy up the left/proper torque cut up by as much as a full one hundred pc. Past simply being a traction help, it additionally helps the automobile pivot right into a nook higher by directing extra torque to an outboard rear wheel, or, relying on what the driving force’s inputs are, it may well shuffle torque left and proper as required to assist hold the automobile pointed the place the driving force desires it to level.
Which is the place the RS Torque Rear mode is available in. Primarily ‘drift mode’ by one other title, RS Torque Rear preferences the rear axle when determining what torque cut up to make use of, and if the driving force pulls again the steadiness management an applicable quantity, it leads to lurid skids that may be simply managed by way of the accelerator pedal, slightly than the steering.
On the RS3’s launch, a sensible demonstration on a skidpan had us drifting with appreciable ease inside minutes, having fun with the virtually laughably simple accessibility of the RS3’s tail-out capabilities. No joke, that is about as simple to float as a Toyota 86, and the drivetrain trickery that’s deployed to make it so is completely imperceptible.
The second ace up the RS3’s sleeve is one thing just a little extra fundamental: its wheel and tyre bundle. The brand new RS3 utilises an unorthodox reverse-staggered tyre setup, that places a wider tyre on the entrance axle and a narrower one on the rear. Such a setup was additionally out there within the final technology, albeit as a value choice, however this time across the rubber is even fatter – 265-section Bridgestone Potenza Sports activities now stay up entrance slightly than the 255s of the earlier RS3’s elective huge wheel bundle, whereas 245/35R19s are fitted on the again.
With extra weight within the nostril of the automobile, placing the broader rubber up entrance means there’s extra grip to assist handle that mass, which then leads to a chassis steadiness that’s a lot nearer to ‘impartial’ than RS3s of yore.
We solely had a small handful of laps at South Australia’s The Bend circuit to get acquainted to the RS3’s on-track behaviour, however the preliminary impression is an effective one. There’s a great deal of front-end grip to take advantage of (together with correct and meaty-feeling steering), and whereas tipping right into a nook with an excessive amount of pace will see the nostril wash predictably huge (as it will in just about any automobile), the edge of understeer is extremely excessive for a nose-heavy AWD automobile. And that is on the usual Bridgestone rubber, thoughts you, not the Pirelli Trofeo R track-day tyres which are out there as a dealer-fit choice. The efficiency headroom appears huge.
What’s extra, you may really use energy to alleviate a few of that front-end push. Delicate understeer will be countered by feeding on energy, which then brings that torque-vectoring rear differential into play by placing extra drive on the outboard rear wheel to assist get the automobile turning once more. Feed on the ability sooner than you usually would, and the result’s a high-G slingshot round all however the tightest corners.