PRACTICALITY with a knockout punch is the heady combination hot hatch fans can expect from Audi’s latest muscle machine, the RS 3 Sportback.
We’re talking the sort of wallop you would expect from a supercar like the R8, but at a fraction of the price.
When the car arrives next April it will be the first time Audi has pinned its famous RS badge on a compact class model.
And those who shell out the £39,900 the RS 3 will cost are certainly in for a treat, because under the bonnet is the same 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbocharged engine found in the TT RS sports car.
It delivers a whopping 335bhp and is capable of blasting to 62mph in just 4.6 seconds and on to an electronically limited 155mph.
As you would expect from Audi, it comes with quattro all-wheel drive and a seven-speed S tronic gearbox with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifts.
A rich, bass-heavy engine note is assured, a tone that can be heightened when the driver presses the Sport button which opens a sound flap in the exhaust and sharpens the throttle response.
Audi says there’s the potential for an average 31 miles per gallon, something made possible through a combination of a system that recovers energy as the car decelerates and the use of light materials like carbon fibre reinforced plastic. It also helps keep CO2 output down to 212g/km.
The German company’s high performance engineering division has been hard at work with this car, which has a 25mm lower chassis than the standard A3, a wider track and is shod with 19-inch alloy wheels.
Standard wheel finish is a machine-polished titanium look, but a black finish with red rim inserts is also available as an option.
A hallmark of the RS 3 is its deeper front apron with enlarged air intakes, anthracite coloured grille with diamond-patterned styling and xenon-plus headlamps while the side view is dominated by the flared, lightweight front wings and prominent sill panels.
Inside, there are leather sports seats with silver stitching, Piano black or the new Aluminium Race inlays and a flat-bottomed RS steering wheel.
Standard kit includes rear parking sensors, electronic climate control, DVD-based satellite navigation with Multi Media Interface and LED daytime running lights.
Front bucket seats, roof rails in matt aluminium look and styling packages in black or matt aluminium are among the optional extras and the order book opens next month.