Even without knowing a damned thing about the Audi RS3, pictured in prototype form here for the first time, there are surely one or two educated guesses to be ventured. It'll use the 2.5-litre engine, for sure, because there's little better powerplant short of those in supercars and Audi has few other places to put it. The inline five be allied solely to a metronomically brilliant dual-clutch gearbox, the performance will be monstrous, the Quattro traction absolute, the quality impeccable and the brakes a touch grabby. You know the script.
Or maybe this is when it changes. See, in the latest AMG A45 S, Mercedes has proved it's possible to combine Instagramable fixtures and fittings with a genuinely absorbing driving experience. Where before the RS3 could counter the threat with that engine - both previous models being a little inert dynamically speaking - it's now going to take much more than Group B time machine under the bonnet to pose a real threat to the AMG.
Testing at the Nurburgring is of course an encouraging start, albeit not the sole guarantor of creating a great mega hatch. Further positives can surely be taken from the enormous discs in front of the front wheels, the squat and assertive stance courtesy of wider tracks and a ride height that pushes wheels right up into the arches. All the ingredients look to be there to challenge the A45's incredible 7:48 'ring lap, especially if power exceeds the Mercedes' 421hp - eminently possible given what the aftermarket has achieved with the 2.5.
Outright ground-covering speed has never been an RS3 issue, however, in the same way that an Airbus A320 is perfectly valid transport for the family holiday. It just wasn't much of an experience overall, which is hard to excuse at nearly £50k; even with a useful revision in 2017, the smallest Audi RS wasn't that memorable outside its stellar powertrain. And say what you will about the A45, but it's not a driving experience you'll forget in a hurry.
Let's hope the updated MQB underpinnings of this new A3 can finally deliver for an RS, given the promise and potential of the engine and what looks like a handsomely assured new look. Furthermore, if BMW does pull its finger out and go ahead with an 'M1' flagship for the 1 Serieswe could have one hell of a triple test on the cards...
Images: S.Baldauf/S.B.Medien
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