New Audi RS 3 to break £50,000 barrier

THE super hot new Audi RS 3 will be priced from £50,900 when it hits the road in the UK in November with saloon versions costing £1,000 more.

Four specifications of the car will be available with the line up topping out from £59,650 for the saloon in Vorsprung trim.

Both the Sportback and the saloon are powered by a 2.5-litre five cylinder TFSI engine that develops 400ps giving the RS 3 blistering performance of 0 to 62mph in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of up to 180mph when the cars are fitted with an optional dynamic pack.

Standard features include Audi’s 12.3-inch virtual cockpit with a display specific to RS models, a  10.1-inch MMI Navigation plus infotainment system and the all-new RS Torque splitter.

The dynamic pack adds £5,500 to the price of the RS 3 and £5,000 to Carbon Black and Vorsprung versions and includes adaptive suspension, ceramic brakes and a sport exhaust system as well as multi-mode drive system which can be selected from an RS button on the steering wheel.

The torque splitter replaces the rear axle differential with an electronically controlled multiple disc clutch which is used on each of the drive shafts to reduce any tendency to understeer and also allows for the car to make controlled drifts when circumstances permit on a track.