OFFICIAL! AUDI RS3 BREAKS COVER!

Audi is throwing the challenge straight to the upcoming BMW 1 Series M Coupe with the announcement of the new RS 3 Sportback. After years of denying plans for such a car, Audi has come out rockets blazing in order to show how serious the company is as far as attracting younger performance enthusiasts is. The RS 3 is currently the baby of the RS range, with an RS 1 also rumoured for the A1 range.

So what details can we gather? Well from the looks of it Audi has mixed conservatism with splashes of brash around the styling bits. We see those xenon plus headlights surrounding that RS grille with its diamond shapes, as well as LED daytime running lights. We also see large air intakes, sill panels, flared front fenders, matt aluminium side mirrors, a big roof spoiler and a high-gloss black diffusor for rear downforce. And for looking awesome too! Sadly, I guess for acoustic purposes, Audi chose two pair up its small oval tailpipes rather than place them one on each side, like other RS cars.

Inside the buyer is treated to sporting eloquence not yet seen in this class of car. Bucket seats (optional) with silver stitching, piano black finish, matt aluminium, a flat-bottomed steering wheel and a special gear lever are just some of the features. If you are paying over R500 000 for a car, which I think the RS 3 will cost when it lands here in the first half of 2011, you expect things like climate control, power steering, a top end sound system, electric stuff and the rest. And with this car you get it too.

It shares its engine with the TT RS. That can only mean good things. The 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbocharged petrol motor with FSI direct injection produces 250kW and maximum torque of 450Nm between 1600rpm and 5300rpm. The gearbox is a 7-speed double-clutch which can be actuated either through paddles behind the steering wheel or the gear lever itself. Power and torque go to all wheels via the quattro all-wheel-drive (AWD) system which sends torque to the axle that needs it the most at any point in time. The 0 – 100km/h is therefore dispatched in a claimed 4.6 seconds, making this the fastest car in its class and one that even serious sports cars will have no answer to.

To enhance performance the suspension has been lowered by 25mm in relation to a normal A3, and the car runs on 19-inch wheels with 235/35 tyres at the front and 225/35 types at the rear.

While Audi South Africa says it’s still investigating the possibility of bringing the RS 3 to Mzansi, you can bet my last tyre-shredding doughnut that the only outstanding issue in that matter is pricing. As I said, expect to part with the better half of R550 000, possibly even touching the R600 000 mark.