Audi is celebrating 50 years of its legendary five-cylinder engine. Yep, it’s hard to believe that it’s been half a century since the company first crammed one of these units under the bonnet of a second-generation Audi 100.
Throwing a massive party to commemorate this rather memorable motoring milestone would be a bit too obvious, so instead the Ingolstadt-based marque is presenting us with this exclusive new RS3 Competition Limited.
Available in both Sportback and Sedan bodystyles, this flagship offering distinguishes itself with an array of exterior upgrades including bespoke heritage badges, canard fins on the outer edges of the front bumper and a split front lip spoiler. Riding on a handsome set of 19-inch ten-cross-spoke wheels in Neodymium gold matte, the RS3 Competition Limited also sees a matte carbon finish applied to the mirror caps, side skirts, rear spoiler and the area directly above the vehicle’s large functional rear air diffuser.
Finishing things off is a partial matte treatment on the rear side windows, darkened matrix LED headlights programmed with a special animation — their segments illuminate in a 1-2-4-5-3 pattern (if you know, you know) when locking or unlocking the car — and a choice of three exterior hues: Daytona gray, Glacier white matte or Malachite green. Audi’s PR department says the latter is reminiscent of the fearsome Audi Sport quattro that provided “the basis for a golden age of rallying with five-cylinder power”.
Inside the RS3 Competition Limited you’ll find a set of super-sculpted, carbon-backed RS bucket front seats upholstered in a mix of black leather and Neodymium gold Dinamica microfiber with contrast stitching in Ginger white. There’s also a numbered matte serial plate in front of the gear shifter, puddle lights that project “RS 3 competition limited” onto the ground below, a 10.1-inch touch display providing RS-specific performance parameters, and an Audi virtual cockpit plus with an exclusive design.
Look closely and you’ll notice the digital instrument dials boast a white background just like in the Audi RS2 Avant — a now much-sought-after machine that debuted with the first RS five-cylinder engine in 1994. Also included as standard is a black Dinamica steering wheel — flattened at both the top and bottom — with a Ginger white mark at the top, while contrast stitching in the same colour runs around its rim.
Under the bonnet things remain more or less the same as the regular RS3, with the familiar 2.5l turbocharged five-cylinder still producing 294kW and 500Nm of torque. Paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, these figures translate to a 0-100km/h time of 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 290km/h. For a more visceral driving experience, however, the Competition Limited boasts a somewhat more raucous RS sports exhaust system.
Audi has also reduced the amount of insulation around the firewall so that more engine noise filters through to the cabin, which likely saves a small amount of weight too.
Matching this unit is a quattro all-wheel drive system with a rear torque splitter as well as a standard ceramic brake package. There’s also a thicker rear stabiliser and a fully adjustable coilover suspension for optimal handling in all driving scenarios. Up front, you get twin-tube shock absorbers with external hydraulic fluid reservoirs, while the rear utilises larger-diameter damper tubes with beefier piston rods (compared with the standard model) for more stable mounting and rigidity. All four corners offer manual three-way adjustability: 12 steps of low-speed compression, 15 steps of high-speed compression and 16 steps of rebound.
As a result, drivers can customise the comfort and performance of the vehicle to suit their personal requirements, driving style and road conditions. A setup manual and the necessary adjustment tools are included as standard and stored inside the cabin for easy access — just what you need for turning quicker laps at the next track day.
Audi says just 750 examples of the RS3 Competition Limited will be built, with pricing in Germany starting at €108,365 (R2,059,373) for the Sportback and €110,005 (R2,091,849) for the sedan.
Audi South Africa is yet to confirm whether any units will be allocated to the local market.
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