SPY PICS: Audi RS3 sedan hits the track
Four-door version of mercurial Audi RS3 Sportback is expected to launch in 2017The ultra hi-po hatchback that everybody (just about) loves is set to be joined by a sedan equivalent with a touch of extra refinement, but no change to the enormous on-road capabilities.
Like the S3 sedan that preceded it in 2014, the four-door RS3 is expected to win hearts and minds with a mix of staggering small-car performance (try zero to 100km/h in around 4.3 seconds) and a cosy interior that is augmented by a handy, conventional 390-litre boot.
Spotted testing at the Nurburgring, the RS3 is a more-muscular cousin of the S3 sedan and is basically the RS3 Sportback from the C-pillar forward.
There's no reason to expect the fundamentals will change either: The RS3 sedan should come with the same effervescent 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine pumping out 270kW and 465Nm, driving through the Volkswagen group's dual-clutch seven-speed automated manual gearbox to a quattro all-wheel drive system.
About the only thing that could make a difference is the weight. Though it is increased by a relatively small margin in the four-cylinder S3, from 1425kg in the Sportback to 1595kg in the sedan, this could affect the 150kg heavier, five-cylinder RS3's acceleration times by a small margin.
Pricewise, expect to pay a bit more for the RS3 sedan: The S3 four-door is $2300 dearer than its five door equivalent and it's reasonable to expect similar differences will apply to the RS3.
The RS3 sedan is anticipated to launch in Europe some time in 2017, with Australia following shortly afterwards.
And now we are about to get an RS3 sedan, how far away is the cabriolet version?
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