► Audi RS3 facelifted for 2024
► Interior and exterior tweaks, engine remains
► Holds Nurburgring ‘compact car’ lap record
Audi has revealed the facelifted version of its RS3 hot hatch, getting a revised look, interior updates and performance upgrades for 2024.
Following on from updates to the A3 and S3, Audi’s baby RS model is the next to get a nip-and-tuck to keep it competitive next to its arch rival, the Mercedes-AMG A45, both among the best hot hatches you can buy.
Audi also recently set a new Nurburgring lap record for the ‘compact class’ with a disguised version and you can watch it in our video lower down this page. Now, the wraps have been pulled off it ahead of going on sale in September 2024, with UK prices starting from £59,510.
More aggressive styling
Even pre-facelift, the RS3 was not known for its subtlety, but Audi has seen fit to add further aggression to the way its hyper-hatch looks. Its single-frame grille is now larger and wider (naturally) with a new pattern, while additional side vents are said to be reminiscent of Audi’s legendary Quattro S1 Pikes Peak car from 1987, according to Ingolstadt.
Its fancy configurable ‘chequered flag’ LED lights remain, while around the rear there’s a new diffuser with new exhaust surrounds that successfully make the pipes look bigger and a new piece of red trim that looks like it’s been borrowed from the back of an F1 car.
There are the usual new wheel designs and colours (Ascari Blue and Matt Daytona Grey), but don’t worry – the RS3’s trademark fluorescent green is still available.
You can now have carbon seats in your RS3
Audi clearly knows its audience with the RS3, as one of the new features for 2024 are some delightful carbon-backed front sports seats. There’s a new squared-off steering wheel, similar to the one from the Q4 e-tron, albeit with more Alcantara on it, of course.
New ‘planar lighting’ back-lights – we quote – ‘hundreds of lasered rhombus shapes of various shapes and sizes’ when the car is locked and unlocked, too. For right or wrong, Audi never ceases to amaze with what its LED lights can do.
Don’t worry, the five-cylinder remains
It would have been so easy for Audi to drop the RS3’s cylinder count to four, but thankfully the magical rarity of a five-cylinder engine remains.
It’s one thing Audi has left almost untouched, with the RS3’s 2.5-litre unit still putting out 395bhp and 500Nm of torque. Accelerating to 62mph takes just 3.8 seconds and the max speed is 155mph (or 174bhp on the Carbon Vorsprung trim).
Audi promises the RS3’s ‘unique sound’ remains courtesy of its firing sequence, with the twin RS big oval exhaust pipes remaining.
Changes to the Torque Splitter
One of the RS3’s crowning pieces of technology is its ‘Torque Splitter’, which allows 100 per cent of rear torque to the outside wheel alone, making it easy to drift. Again, know your audience.
Audi has tweaked this feature further with a new algorithm that is said to respond more sensitively, with the result being higher cornering speeds and the ability to get on the throttle earlier out of a corner – a contributor in it achieving the Nurburgring lap record. It’s also now easier to get sideways courtesy of what Audi calls ‘evolved oversteer’, enabling a driver to get to a drift angle faster.
Pricing and specs
The new Audi RS3 will go on sale in September priced from £59,510, with the Saloon version commanding an extra £1000 across the line-up.
Standard features include 19-inch alloy wheels, Nappa leather sports seats, a head-up display and Sonos sound system.
Up next is the Carbon Black trim, which brings upgraded alloys, Matrix LED headlights and a full carbon package – priced from £64,160. At the top of the range is the Carbon Vorsprung model, which gets a raised top speed, panoramic roof and adaptive suspension for a £68,650 starting price.
The RS3’s Nurburgring lap-time record
The RS3 shaved five seconds off the previous compact car record holder – the BMW M2 – with a fairly scorching 7min 33.1sec, beating the M2’s 7min 38.7sec pretty convincingly. You can watch the lap below.
Long-time Audi Sport racing and development driver Frank Stippler was at the wheel who said ‘optimised cornering behaviour’ was the key to the dramatic improvement.
Over to Frank: ‘The new RS3 turns in more willingly at corner entry thanks to fine-tuning – including brake torque vectoring – which allows the vehicle to be positioned earlier and better for corner exit from the apex, at the latest.’
He continued: ‘The result is a lower steering angle from apex to corner exit, which leads to less friction and earlier acceleration, allowing you to carry more momentum and speed onto each subsequent straight.’
2024 Audi RS3 Nurburgring lap record video