Audi Confirms Ultra-Über-Hot RS3 for the U.S.!
Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:24 pm
Car and Driver
Audi of America CEO Scott Keogh has finally confirmed what we’ve long suspected: The 367-hp RS3 is coming to the U.S. We’ve been optimistic about that car’s chances for the States since way back in 2012, when we had the above RS3 sedan rendering commissioned. As Keogh points out in comments to Automotive News, the sedan would be better suited to our market than the equally cool RS3 hatchback currently on sale in Europe.
Today’s U.S.-market Audi A3 landscape includes a sedan, a cabriolet, and the 292-hp S3 sedan. (The A3 e-tron plug-in-hybrid hatchback soon will join the group.) As Keogh states to AN, he thinks the RS3 is “going to be a great positioning car, a great halo car. I’m very confident we’ll see that car in the market. That’s as far as I’m going to go.” When we reached out to Audi for comment, a spokesperson told us that while the car has not yet officially been signed off on, the company is “optimistic” and expects to bring it Stateside.
We’d agree with Keogh, however. Even though it very righteously tramps all over the larger S4’s toes, the RS3 is balls-out awesome—we know this because we’ve driven the Euro-market hatchback variant. The sedan Audi sends stateside should get that car’s 367-hp 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, and Quattro all-wheel-drive system. Audi quotes a zero-to-60 time of just 4.3 seconds, and top speed is limited to either 155 mph or 174 mph, depending on which option packages buyers choose.