Test Audi RS 3 Sportback Performance Edition, 407 HP of exclusive fun

Here you have the test of the Audi RS 3 Performance Edition in which it is the ideal setting for such an exclusive car. And I’m going to cut to the chase! Location: Monteblanco circuit, in Huelva. Dry track and pit lane light green.

I disconnect the electronic aids of this special Audi RS3 Sportback and sink my right foot with the same force with which my back sticks to the series benches of this special version and limited to only 300 units worldwide (more exclusive than a abt).

The kick of the five-cylinder turbo, of this RS 3 Hatchback with its 407 horsepower (seven more than the ‘normal’ version) does nothing but portend good things in the following minutes. Negative camber, stiffer wishbones and specific anti-roll bars are joined by RS sport suspension with adaptive damping control and RS Torque Rear.

In other words, I have all the necessary ingredients to attack every corner and push this Audi RS3 Performance Edition to the limit of grip (almost like the TCR championship race car).

The first one arrives and you have to brake hard. I don’t think twice: I hurry up and get on the brake pedal of this Audi. Wow! These act with such efficiency and forcefulness that I fall short with this new RS.

I have to loosen up a bit to reach the first corner with more speed. The brakes are carbon-ceramic on the front axle, with 380mm discs and blue-painted six-piston calipers that work without fail. The pedal feel is perfect, hard and progressive, as it should be in an RS Performance.

When it comes to accelerating with this test of the Audi RS 3 Performance Edition, you don’t have to think about it too much: thanks to the quattro all-wheel drive and the RS Torque Splitter system, you can sink your right foot without hesitation, even with the steering still turned a few degrees .

The normal thing is that nothing happens and you feel a brutal push, with the nose going where ordered, but if the lag insinuates a bit, you simply have to correct slightly with the steering wheel modulating the accelerator a little.

It’s sewing and singing, and something super fun… The five-cylinder engine of this Audi RS 3 Performance Edition meanwhile seduces you with its characteristic metallic sound, something that is combined with the backfiring at each gear insertion that is amazing .

Speaking of the automatic gearbox, this is a dual-clutch, with specific ratios and works as quickly as it is exquisite, especially in RS Dynamic mode: there are no jerks or bad manners. Of course, the paddles behind the steering wheel should be a little larger and with a slightly harder touch.

Lap after lap, this Performance Edition only knows how to make me smile enormously: it brings out the best in you as a driver and gives you unique sensations, especially when you also know that you are looking at one piece among 300, an exclusivity that also adds up.

If a car is exhibited on the circuit like the RS 3 Performance Edition does, you can be sure that you are taking home a sports car with capital letters. They arrive in Spain at the beginning of 2023, but only until they reach 300 units, so run for one! Its price? 103,000 euros.