The Audi RS3 Competition is a £92k goodbye to Ingoldstadt’s five-cylinder

Quattro all-wheel drive and the five-cylinder engine are Audi’s two key staples, but before too long, the latter will disappear for good. Ingoldstadt’s iconic engine family was first introduced in 1976 with the second-generation Audi 100, but when the time comes for the RS3’s discontinuation over five decades on, so too will the five-cylinder’s time be up. To mark the end of the line for both the engine and hot hatch, Audi has launched the RS3 Competition.

This is an ultra-limited special that will cost UK buyers an eye-watering £92,855, over £30k more than the standard car and more than even the new 630bhp RS5. Not only that, but of the 750 cars sold worldwide, the UK will receive just ten later this year, all in hatchback-form and in the specification seen here. It’s a safe bet that most examples of this car will be bound for hermetically sealed collections, then.

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Powertrain, specs and 0-62mph

If you’re familiar with Audi’s recent RS lineup and its enhanced variants, you’ll probably know what to expect here. Power output from the RS3’s 2.5-litre turbocharged five-cylinder remains unchanged from the ordinary car at 394bhp and 369lb ft of torque – as a result, the 0-62mph time stays the same at 3.8sec, with top speed marginally higher at 180mph. 

To give it a little more oomph in its final form, though, Audi Sport’s engineers have made the most of its final five-cylinder by opening the exhaust valves within its RS Sports exhaust system earlier in the rev range. Restrictive emissions and sound regulations make it tricky to increase external volume though, so this car goes one step further by removing sound insulation from the firewall to improve the experience for those inside the car. Better still, this actually reduces weight by 4kg, which when combined with the standard fitment of carbon ceramic brakes removes 14kg from the overall kerb weight – new carbonfibre trim does weigh something though, so the overall weight figure is in-line with the standard car all told.

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Chassis and technical highlights

The real star of the show is its three-way adjustable coilover suspension, allowing for more poise and flexibility in the RS3’s dynamic setup – the front coilovers come with external reservoirs to allow for an increased volume of oil, a subsequent improvement in temperature control and more consistent performance. This new hardware comes courtesy of KW, but Audi Sport has engineered it specifically for the RS3, tweaking various parameters to suit the small form factor and increasing rear spring rates in-line with the Competition’s stiffer anti-roll bar. High and low speed compression and rebound can be adjusted manually, as can ride height with tools included in a nifty dedicated tool kit.

Just like the standard RS3, the Competition comes with the same ‘torque-splitter’ rear axle that’s made the model such a step above its predecessors – under load, up to 100 per cent of the available rear-axle power can be sent to a single wheel for proper torque vectoring. Combine this with these manually adjustable coilovers, a stiffer anti-roll bar and optional Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres and we don’t doubt that the RS3 has been elevated to another level. It’s just a shame this is its final form.

Design and interior

These cars will be a rare sight on UK roads and if you do spot one, you have a keen eye – the visual changes are subtle. The front end gets the most dramatic update, with the intakes either side of the central grille now framed by more aggressive surrounds, and a small splitter element giving it more of an edge. There are a pair of small canards on either side, too, with each and every new exterior component finished in unique matte carbonfibre. Headlights are darkened Matrix LED items, but on unlocking/locking the car, the DRL section will now display the 1-2-4-5-3 firing order of the five-cylinder. A gimmick to some, but I love it. 

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The mirror caps, new side skirts and modified rear spoiler are finished in matte carbonfibre too, with the latter building on the standard car’s boot-mounted item with an additional central element to reduce lift. Malachite green is a colour specific to the RS3 Competition, the shade seen on the iconic Sport Quattro of the ‘80s (and thankfully, the only colour the UK gets), but grey and white are also available. Its intricate 19-inch ‘10-cross-spoke’ wheels are the kind you’ll find on the standard car, but they’re now finished in a subtle Neodymium matte gold, a colour that becomes a theme inside.

Audi has made sure you won’t mistake this for any ordinary RS3, with Competition branding on the seats, puddle projectors, floor mats, boot carpet and even etched into the rear glass. Stunning carbonfibre-backed bucket seats are upholstered in a striking off-white quilted Alcantara, with gold trim, RS2-inspired white digital dials, ‘Ginger white’ seat belts and a Alcantara-clad, flat-bottomed steering wheel making it feel the special car it is. Look closely at the centre console and you’ll also spot the exact number of the 750 cars you’re sitting in, numbered consecutively unlike many of these special editions.

It will be a sad day when the RS3 and the five-cylinder that powers it meet their end, but before then, we need to find out if we have a new star hot hatch on our hands. Hopefully they go out on a high. 

Audi RS3 Competition specs

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