WORTHERSEE: 368kW Audi A3 clubsport quattro concept

Audi has ripped the covers off the supercar-thumping A3 clubsport quattro at the Wörthersee festival of tune today.

The wild four-door concept, loosely based on the S3 sedan, boasts the same power-to-weight ratio as Audi's flagship Audi R8 V10 Plus.

Audi tech boss Dr Ulrich Hackenberg had been hoping the 309kW TT Quattro Sport Concept would spur his five-cylinder engine boffins into greater heroics, and they have succeeded.

Fitted with the latest development of the much-awarded five-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine from the outgoing RS 3, the clubsport quattro thumps out 368kW of power from just 2480cc of engine capacity.

It's enough power to hurl the 1527kg sedan to 100km/h in just 3.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 310km/h, both of which are enough to frighten Ferrari owners.

A full 1.3 seconds faster to 100km/h than the S3 it's based on, the clubsport quattro is a precursor to next year's new RS 3, which will be based around the same five-cylinder turbo motor.

The concept is exactly wild enough to fit in with the craziness of the Wörthersee festival, which sees all manner of tuned Volkswagen Group cars, particularly Golfs, descend upon an otherwise-serene lake in Austria.

"The Audi A3 clubsport quattro concept shows our car and tuning fans at Wörthersee just how much sporty potential there is in the A3 family and in our 2.5 TFSI. We have pushed the limits in every respect with this show car: power, dynamics, sound, design,” said Dr Hackenberg, Audi's board member in charge of Technical Development.

The engine's boosted power comes largely from a new turbocharger that raises its maximum boost pressure to 1.5 bar, a new intercooler and larger intake and exhaust manifolds.

With 600Nm of torque from 2300rpm all the way up to 6000 revs, the redesigned five-cylinder engine easily trumps the 420Nm on offer from the TT Quattro Sport concept's version of the 2.0-litre EA888 four-cylinder turbo motor.

It has forced Audi to add a stronger multi-plate Haldex centre differential for its all-wheel drive system and a unique final-drive ratio fitted to its seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Besides running revamped clutches and cogs, the clubsport quattro's powertrain now offers an integrated launch-control system and is even geared up to allow the car to drift.

The repowered sedan has been dropped 10mm from the already-lowered S3, uses stiffer springs and dampers and sits on tiny slivers of rubber, measuring 275/25, on 21-inch alloy wheels.

The bigger wheels are needed to house the 370mm carbon-ceramic front brake discs, which are aided by an air brake that forces the boot-mounted rear spoiler up into the airflow under braking. The air brake only works at speeds above 250km/h though, and is said to shrink stopping distances by 12 metres.

The 4490mm-long A3 clubsport quattro gets a unique Magnetic Blue paint colour and a significant fiddle to the front look of the S3, including bigger air intakes and ducts, wider wheel-arches and a carbon-fibre splitter.