Local News: Audi RS 3 Sportback launched

Developed by quattro GmbH, each Audi RS model represents the pinnacle of its model line. The RS 3 Sportback brings this dynamic philosophy to the compact category and was most recently crowned winner of “Sportiest Cars of 2011” reader survey by sport auto magazine. It rockets from zero to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds – a figure unrivalled by competitors. Top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h. Even so the compact car, weighing only 1,575 kg, uses on average just 9.1 litres of fuel per 100 km and emits 212 g CO2 per km. This efficiency is due in large part to a delivery-on-demand oil pump and a regenerative system that recovers energy as the car decelerates.

The RS 3 Sportback’s engine thrills thanks to its tremendous pulling power and its voracious revving up to 6,800 rpm. The guttural roaring and growling, backed by the signature rhythm of the five-cylinder firing order, make up the classic Audi soundtrack. A sound flap in the exhaust branch intensifies the sound even further. The flap is controlled via the Sport button, which also varies the engine response.

Powerful five-cylinder engines have a long legacy at Audi. In the 1980s, racing cars and production cars used them to edge out the competition. Even the first Audi RS model, the 1994 RS 2, had a five-cylinder engine.

The 2.5 TFSI delivers 340bhp from a displacement of 2,480cc and a specific power output of 137.1 bhp per litre. The maximum torque of 450Nm is readily available at the low end of the rev range, around 1,600rpm, and remains constant up to 5,300 revolutions. These parameters yield excellent acceleration and elasticity values.
Just 49 cm in length, the five-cylinder unit is ultra-compact, tipping the scales at a mere 183 kg. The crankcase is made of vermicular-graphite cast iron, a high-strength yet lightweight material. Audi is the first carmaker to use this material in a gasoline engine. Perfectly-placed reinforcements further enhance the block’s loadability. The lightweight-design concept keeps the Audi RS 3 Sportback’s weight in check and pays off big in terms of axle-load distribution and, ultimately, handling.

The large turbocharger generates up to 1.2 bar of boost pressure. The intercooler downstream achieves an efficiency rate of over 80 percent. Like all Audi gasoline turbos, the 2.5 TFSI combines turbocharging technology with FSI direct injection. The marriage of these two technologies facilitates a high compression ratio (10.0:1) along with a correspondingly high efficiency ratio.

The compact seven-speed S tronic transmits power from the five-cylinder engine via three shafts: one drive shaft and two output shafts. Like all dual-clutch transmissions, it comprises two transmission structures. The shifting process is extremely smooth, taking place in hundredths of a second as the clutches switch, with no perceptible interruption of pulling power. Seventh gear is very tall – a measure that reduces fuel consumption.

The driver can operate the seven-gear S tronic in two automatic modes and one manual mode. Gears are shifted using the paddles on the steering wheel or the selector lever. The launch control system manages the sprint from a dead stop, furnishing explosive turbo power with minimal tire slip.

Delivering power to the road with effortless ease, quattro permanent all-wheel drive grants the RS 3 Sportback traction, dynamics, and stability. Its central component is an electronically-controlled multi-plate clutch, mounted at the end of the propeller shaft to achieve a favourable axle load distribution. Located in its interior is a plate package bathed in oil.

Thanks to quattro, the propulsive power can be distributed to each axle as needed. Whenever slip occurs at one of the axles, an electric pump intervenes at lightning speed to increase the oil pressure. The pump presses the clutch plates together in a continuous fashion, thereby permitting the torque to be redirected accordingly. Thanks to a powerful accumulator, this process takes just a few milliseconds.

The stiff body lays the cornerstone for the RS 3 Sportback’s precise handling; the chassis is what makes it happen. The four-link rear suspension – with a track measuring 1,528 mm – is anchored to a subframe and features high-strength-steel control arms that allow it to handle longitudinal and lateral forces separately.
Widened to a 1,564-mm track, the front suspension is a McPherson strut construction, also with a separate subframe. Key components of the construction are made of aluminium. Thanks to its electromechanical drive, the rack-and-pinion steering is highly efficient, with a sporty-direct gear ratio of 16.2:1.

Coil springs and redesigned shock absorbers provide the vertical support. The sports suspension lowers the body of the RS 3 Sportback by 25 mm compared with the A3. The new range-topping model in the A3 series boasts 19-inch cast aluminium wheels fitted with 235/35 series tyres at the front and 225/35 at the rear. The wheels come standard with machine-polished titanium-look styling, but are optionally available in black with a red rim flange.

The internally ventilated disks measure 370 mm in diameter at the front and 310 mm at the rear. The front friction rings are perforated for maximum heat dissipation. They are connected by hollow pins to the aluminium brake disk covers, which are encircled by four-piston fixed calipers. The electronic stabilisation program (ESP) features a Sport mode and can be switched off entirely.

Precisely guided by its responsive steering, the RS 3 Sportback eagerly takes to curves and exits them with agility, stability, and serenity. The stability limit is high, an effortless mastery that rounds off the character of this powerful compact car.

The RS 3 Sportback hints at its explosive potential from the very first glimpse. Together with the xenon plus headlights, the front apron, the anthracite single-frame grill with diamond-patterned styling and the air intakes cut a distinctive figure.

The side view is dominated by the flared front fenders made of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP), prominent sill panels, exterior-mirror casings in matt aluminium look and a large roof spoiler. A high-gloss black diffusor insert and two elliptical exhaust tailpipes on the left accentuate the styling at the rear.

The dynamic style is matched in the interior, entirely black and sporting a number of RS3 logos. The sports seats are upholstered in Fine Nappa leather with silver contrasting stitching; the inlays gleam in Piano finish black or the new Aluminium Race look; the leather multifunction sports steering wheel is flat-bottomed. The selector lever and instruments are specially designed. The driver information system can display the boost pressure and oil temperature as well as a lap timer.

The RS 3 Sportback comes with an array of standard equipment including the Sport button, rear parking system, climate control, radio symphony, and xenon plus headlights with LED daytime running lights. Audi offers customers a range of optional features: front bucket seats and styling packages in black or matte aluminium.
The Audi RS 3 Sportback quattro S tronic is now available in Singapore at S$259,888 (inclusive of COE).

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