2021 Audi RS 3: Now The Quickest In Its Class

Featuring new torque vectoring tech and cool lights, the RS 3 is better than ever.

Now quicker than ever, Audi’s RS 3 has been revealed to be a natural evolution of Audi’s compact 4-door sports car with sharp new styling and plenty of performance upgrades too.

Still available in both saloon and hatchback guise, the new RS 3 now produces around 400PS (around 395 horsepower which is around 90hp more than in the S3) from the nine-time “International Engine of the Year” 5-cylinder 2.5 TFSI engine. Now more powerful than ever, the famed engine can propel the sporty saloon/hatchback from 0-62mph in just 3.8 seconds making it the fastest car in its class.

Even though the AMG A45 has a little more horsepower, the new RS 3 is still quicker and that’s likely due to the ultra-quick 7-speed dual-clutch transmission and of course, the all-new four-wheel-drive system.

The new torque vectoring system, RS Torque Splitter, allows for torque to be distributed independently to each rear wheel meaning if one rear wheel is on the dirt, it won’t be spinning at the same speed as the other rear wheel which may have a better grip on the tarmac. It also helps improve performance through corners as more torque will be delivered to the wheel with the most grip.

The previous RS 3 had torque split between only the rear and front wheels whereas the new upcoming model will have independent vectoring for the front wheels and the rear left and rear right wheel.

When it comes to vanity, those that want to can option Matrix LED lights for both the front and rear lights. Unlike the LED lights that come as standard, the Matrix LED lights are much fancier and play special light sequences when the car is locked and unlocked, with the front lights displaying ‘R’ ‘S’ and ‘3’ in that order.

The interior is also quite customisable for those looking to spec one, with carbon trim available for the dash, as well as Nappa leather seats with accent colours for the seats and air vents and different coloured stitching available which can also be applied to the seatbelts.

As per the status quo among today’s hot hatches, the new RS 3 will include a drift mode. As also available in the Golf R and A45, the car will use its new RS Torque Splitter tech and send the rear of the car sliding out just the right amount for drivers to be able to pull off some cool drifts with a little bit of electronic assistance.

The new Audi RS 3 will go on sale in August 2021 and prices will start from £50,900 which is only a fraction more than the previous model. That’s the price you pay for class-leading performance.

Let us know your thoughts on the 2021 RS 3, in the comments.

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