Britain's most powerful hatch

Britain's most powerful hatch

Britain's most powerful hatch

Audi have been busy working on creating the most powerful production hot hatch, the result is the Audi RS3 which goes on sale next April.

The new RS3 will boast a power train taken from the TT RS, a turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine pumping 332lb ft of torque and is mated to a seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch transmission. The outright power will propel the RS3 beyond Audi's competitors, Ford, Renault, Subaru and Vauxhall.

Even before the car is ready for delivery it seems to have clinched the title of Britain's most powerful production hot hatch. The high performance Audi is just a handful of horsepower and lb ft of torque behind the 345bhp Ford Focus RS500, but the limited-run of 500 Rs500s is sold out. The same goes for the 395bhp Cosworth Impreza, which is restricted to just 75 examples.

The Audi RS3 is up against the up and coming Renaultsport Megane but that comes with only 300bhp, another up and coming model is the Mitsubishi Evo FQ-360 but that is not in the same class as it is a 4 door saloon.

The closest competition for the RS3 will come from the BMW 1 series M Coupe, which produces 350bhp, but again that is not a hatch. Price wise the RS3 and BMW 1 Series Coupe are very closely matched at the 40k region.

Like all Audi RS models the RS3 will come with Audi's renown permanent all wheel drive system, and include a Haldex viscous-coupling capable of shunting drive between the front and rear axles to maximise grip.

During the unveiling Audi Carlisle announced that the RS3's dual clutch will be equipped with a launch control programme, it is not clear if the stated 0-62mph figure of 4.6 seconds is achieved with launch control enabled or not. The RS3's 0-62mph of 4.6 seconds makes it faster than the BMW M3!

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