Upgraded 2025 Audi RS 3 claims Nurburgring lap record

The 2025 Audi RS 3 has been freshened up with a whole host of tweaks designed to improve handling and agility on road and racetracks like the Nurburgring, where the facelifted hyper-hatch has claimed a new record lap for the compact production car class.

Key to unlocking the hot lap is new brake torque vectoring technology that improves agility and reduces steering effort on turn-in on a circuit.

Other upgrades include new sophisticated software governing the torque vectoring, stability control and adaptive dampers, with the latter revised to help better cope with higher lateral forces involved with faster cornering.

Beneath the bonnet, Audi Sport has not disclosed what’s happened with the RS 3’s turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine, but has said it continues to produce the same 294kW and 500Nm of torque.

That means it should dash from 0-100km/h in the same 3.8 seconds as before.

Releasing pictures of the RS 3 sedan that clocked a 7:33.123 lap around the 20.8km-long Nordschleife, Audi’s hottest hatch yet is said to be an incredible 11 seconds faster than the latest Honda Civic Type R and an impressive 2.0sec faster than the outgoing RS 3.

The time was set on the RS 3’s most extreme and stickiest Pirelli P Zero Trofeo rubber.

Visually, the lightly-disguised RS 3 appears to get new frontal styling that includes revised air intakes and a simplified, smoother single-frame grille hinting at revised aerodynamics.

At the rear there’s a new set of tail-lights that look like they might feature the same OLED tech as the latest Audi Q6 e-tron SUV.

There’s also a new bumper that looks like it bags a new diffuser and aero elements.

Full details will be released shortly but first deliveries of the 2025 Audi RS 3 are due to commence in Europe in October.

That suggests an arrival Down Under late this year or early 2025.

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