Right from the start, Audi Sport has dominated motor racing through quattro—this permanent all-wheel drive technology is key to the brand winning world championships beginning in the early 1980s, stretching up to the present. It is quattro technology that plays a major role in Audi Sport’s production RS models to also lead the way on the road.
Audi Sport’s new, high-performance RS 3 Sedan, currently available in Audi Philippines’ showrooms, is no exception to this.
The spiritual successor to the “Ur-Quattro” race machines that secured World Rally Championship crowns in 1982, 1983 and 1984, as well as the legendary S1 that competed in Group B rally racing and which clinched the Pikes Peak title in 1987 with Walter Rohrl driving, the new RS 3 Sedan sends its engine’s power to all four wheels through the quattro system. In the new RS 3 Sedan, quattro is an electronically controlled system with a hydraulically activated multi-plate clutch mounted at the rear axle. This multi-plate clutch, using software tailored to the new RS 3 Sedan, distributes the drive torque to the front and rear axles as required.
The new RS 3 Sedan is fitted with a turbocharged, 2.5-liter inline-five-cylinder engine—just like the early Ur-Quattro race cars. Outputting 400 hp and 480 Nm, the 2.5 TSFI engine in the new RS 3 Sedan is currently the most powerful inline-five in the world. It is capable of catapulting the car from a standstill to 100 km/h in only 4.1 seconds.
The 2.5 TFSI has won the 2.0-liter to 2.5-liter category in the International Engine of the Year award for 10 consecutive years, from 2010 to 2019.
Matched to the 2.5 TFSI is Audi Sport’s seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission. The S tronic can be left in automatic mode or can be made to change gears via steering wheel paddles. Two driving programs are available in automatic mode; “D” is suited for normal traffic while “S” lets the 2.5 TFSI rev higher. In any mode, gear shifts are imperceptible and happen within hundredths of a second.
As a model developed by Audi Sport, the new RS 3 Sedan flaunts a Singleframe grille marked by the quattro logo, a fixed rear spoiler lip, a distinctive diffuser insert with vertical struts, large oval tailpipes for the RS sport exhaust system, and flared wheel arches accommodating wide 19-inch Audi Sport alloy wheels. Visible behind the wheels are the RS sports brakes. The Black Optic package for the exterior further identifies the new RS Sedan as a high-performance car.
In the cabin, the new RS 3 Sedan mixes sport, luxury and intelligent features through contoured RS sport seats, RS multi-function three-spoke steering wheel with paddle shifters, leather-covered panels with red contrast stitching, Audi’s MMI infotainment system, a Bang & Olufsen audio setup, and the Audi virtual cockpit—a fully digital instrument cluster with a 12.3-inch TFT monitor that presents information in high-definition graphics. In the special RS screen mode, a rev counter dominates the display, which can show torque, power, tire pressure and g-force figures.
All the features of the new RS 3 Sedan can be presented to clients via the Audi Live View. This full digital luxury experience lets clients engage in real time, via a smartphone, with an Audi product expert who is at an Audi Philippines showroom.
For more information, contact 7270381 to 85 or email [email protected].
You may also visit Audi Philippines showrooms at EDSA, Mandaluyong; Bonifacio Global City; Westgate Alabang; and SM Seaside Cebu.