Audi RS 3 sales running hot

If you want to get your hands on the hot new 294kW Audi RS 3 you better get your skates on.

Demand is rapidly outstripping supply for the Audi RS 3, which costs $91,391 plus on-road costs for the hatch (Sportback) and $93,891 plus ORCs for the sedan, with limited stocks and new customer orders taking up to a year to fill.

Adding to its appeal, the new Audi RS 3 claims bragging rights over the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S for being both quicker and faster, accelerating to 100km/h in 3.8 seconds and topping out at 290km/h with an option pack.

Also generating extra customer awareness is the fact it’s the first Audi RS model to be fitted with a drift mode – and likely the last to be powered by Audi’s iconic five-cylinder turbo-petrol engine.

“There was strong interest pre-launch and there is strong interest currently,” said Audi Australia’s corporate communications manager, Shaun Cleary.

“If you’re looking few a new order, it’s up to a year for an order from the factory, but we will have stock with dealers,” he said.

“Obviously it just depends on what’s available, what customers like and how flexible they might be willing to be.”

The 2022 Audi RS 3’s newly-developed RS ‘torque splitter’ rear diff adds a rear-wheel drive twist to the quattro car that improves its handling dynamics on road and track, while adding a drift mode that lets owners shred tyres in a power-sliding frenzy.

But it’s the new Audi RS 3’s unique 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo-petrol engine that’s also providing a somewhat speculative hook for buyers to snap up the new model faster than cryptocurrency firms are filing for bankruptcy.

The new RS 3 could be the last new Audi model fitted with the 7000rpm five-pot screamer given the days of the Audi TT RS are numbered and Audi sources in Europe say the next-generation RS 3 will be an all-electric scorcher.

Cleary refused to comment on the potential demise of the five-cylinder engine but said it’s been a crucial part of the RS 3’s ongoing success.

“For us its hugely important. It is iconically Audi, since the early ’80s.

“Certainly demand for the RS 3 has been extraordinary over the last few years, since we’ve had it in Australia, and in the newest generation the demand and orders we’ve got is incredible, so we’ve been delighted.”

It could be quite some time before Audi officially speaks out on the issue, but if the stratospheric spike in demand and asking prices for used versions of the Subaru WRX STI following its demise are any indication, demand for the latest Audi RS 3 is unlikely to subside any time soon.

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