A feast for the senses: upgrade for the Audi RS 3

20.08.2024 New Zealand Reading time: 5 min

Audi Sport has heightened the senses of the RS 3. With the upgrade, the compact top model will become even sportier. From the strong lines at the front and the wheels in motorsport design, these are acoustically underscored by the deep-throated roar of the five-cylinder engine with its signature firing sequence. The 2.5 TFSI engine, combined with the optimised chassis setup, propels the RS 3 around corners. The new lap record on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife confirms this.

Audi New Zealand, General Manager, Greg Leet, says, “Drivers will feel the difference in this upgrade with increased driving dynamics and the high-quality materials – making it a true experience for the senses.”

Sporty, striking design visually evokes performance

After its product upgrade, the Audi RS 3 has a significantly sportier appearance. The dominant feature of the assertive front design is the hexagonal Singleframe with a striking border. Flatter and considerably broader than before, it emphasises the dynamics of the compact sports car with its rhombus-pattern grille. The same goes for the two functional side air intakes – accentuated by vertical black blades – and the three apertures above the front splitter. With redesigned daytime running lights, the headlights also accentuate the car’s performance. The digital signature which displays a checkered flag in the RS 3 comprises 24 elements.

The rear of the RS 3 also features references to motorsport and has a much stronger presence than before. The large functional RS-specific diffuser incorporates a red reflector in its center and, on its sides, the two oval tailpipe trims of the RS exhaust system, which look even larger in their black frames. Like the headlights, the taillights also feature a new graphic: Arrows that dynamically light up from the inside to out with the coming home/ leaving home function.

New light features, effect paint, and carbon

The standard contour and ambient lighting illuminate the new design features: the storage box in front of the flatter-designed shifter, the center console with cup holders, and the doors. A delightful night-time feature is the so-called planar lighting, whereby a light source in the door panel back-lights hundreds of lasered rhombus shapes of various sizes, which dynamically light up when locking and unlocking the RS 3. This underscores the sporty-evocative design. The door handles, air vents, the steering wheel cover clip, and the shift paddles are finished in an anthracite effect paint, which shimmers according to the light conditions. In addition to the standard two-piece version in palladium grey with carbon insert, there is also a one-piece RS-specific trim strip in matt carbon and a new variant in black Dinamica as decor inlays.

The design packages in red and green add touches of colour to the seat belts, seat shoulders, and air vents. Additionally, the contrast stitching on the seats, centre armrest, door armrests, steering wheel, and the 12 o’clock marker is done in the respective colour. The same goes for the floor mats in black velour, which are also adorned by RS lettering.

RS displays with focus on performance

The 12.3-inch Audi virtual cockpit plus with Sport, Performance, and Runway views was already standard. These features are now joined by the new rev counter, which prominently displays the revolutions per minute in the centre of the instrument cluster. In addition, there are displays for power output, torque, g-forces, acceleration, and lap times. In manual transmission mode, the RS-specific blinking shift indicator changes the rpm display from green to yellow to red to indicate the ideal time to change gears. On top of this, the temperature ranges of coolant, torque splitter, brakes, engine oil and transmission oil are shown in colour on the 10.1-inch touch display in the instrument panel.

Five-cylinder engine with a more distinctive sound

The Audi RS 3 is powered by the legendary 2.5 TFSI engine from Audi Sport with 294 kW and a maximum torque of 500 Nm. This means the RS 3 accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds and can reach a top speed of 290 km/h. Numerous motorsport successes make the award-winning five-cylinder engine one of the most evocative at Audi and make driving the RS 3 an incomparable experience. This is due to its unique sound, which is based on the signature 1-2-4-5-3 firing sequence. In addition, the exhaust flap control was optimized in the rpm range between 2,200 and 3,500 revolutions. In this way, the five-cylinder generates a consistent and fuller-bodied sound no matter which mode is selected.

Enhanced vehicle dynamics through optimised cornering

For proof that the RS 3 is fast on straights, we need only look at its acceleration stats, which continue to outstrip those of its core competitors. Cornering, by contrast, is difficult to express in numbers. The driving feel is much more important here. So much so, in fact, that Frank Stippler set a new lap record on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. The Audi Sport racing and development driver set a time of 7:33.123 minutes, beating the previous record in this class by more than five seconds. His success means the RS 3 is once again the fastest compact car on the 20.832-kilometer racetrack in the Eifel.

The basis for the impressively high driving dynamics is the interaction of the torque splitter with its fully variable torque distribution between the rear wheels, electronic stability control, wheel-selective torque control (brake torque vectoring), and the adaptive dampers of the RS sport suspension. These components are relevant to lateral dynamics and are networked in the modular driving dynamics controller, where data synchronisation occurs. Thanks to a further developed algorithm, they react even more acutely to the respective driving situations.

Higher cornering speeds

The RS 3 now performs even better in bends, avoids understeer at the entrance to the corner, and turns in more willingly thanks to fine-tuning - including brake torque vectoring. Thanks to the finely dosed brake interventions on the inside wheels, the compact sports car follows the corner’s radius more precisely than before, both in under partial load and on overrun, and it can be positioned earlier and better for exiting the curve from the apex.

Evolved oversteer

The improved algorithm is also driving an evolution in oversteer. Previously, oversteer was generated primarily by increasing the load requirement – in other words, stepping on the throttle. Now oversteer is easier to initiate in the RS 3 via the steering angle. This allows the driver to obtain the same drift angle faster.

Performance mode activated

If you want to activate the Performance mode, which is specially designed for the racetrack, you can do so by pressing the left satellite button. The button with the checkered flag icon is new, as is the red RS button on the right steering wheel spoke, which offers quick access to RS Individual mode.

Local pricing and specification

Final pricing and specifications for New Zealand will be released closer to the local launch which is planned for early 2025. To keep informed and receive updates on this new model, please go to audi.co.nz.