Scoop photo Audi RS3
 

http://www.fastdrive.org/news.php?extend.43
it's very amazing compact car
350hp!!

That it is! At a very amazing price too!!!!
dave:D

£5k cheaper than an M3 though

It'll probably not feel like 350hp though....remember the S4 was supposed to be rapid with its twin-turbo engine, but it proved a tad disapointing!!

And???
dave

The RS3 isn't competition for the M3, the (R)S4 is.

Wonder if bmw will reply with a M1? :D

Much rather the Audi either way although it's expensive for a small family hatch.

You mean like this? :p

http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/m1.jpg

I remember being in an S4 around Bedford's track and it was eating up modded Imprezas with ease.

F

Carl2 - yeah yeah yeah, I wondered if anyone would post that :D but you know what I mean, an M1series beemer-baby :D

Uses same Golf chassis and has a damn great V6 in front.

When someone puts the Impreza STi boxer and drivetrain into a Golf-sized hatch, wake me up.

Have to say the new RS3 front looks a bit like a Hitler 'tash.

Don't like it myself.

Been waiting to see this for months now, first impressions, not that keen on the front styling, and the body is too high and weighty looking. My S3, is pure stealth,this looks like its got another 20 more air bags than mine has! Still may be forced to take a test drive in the near future.

These are just the same photoshoped Audi press pics of an A3 3.2 that were in Autoexpress last week. They haven't even officially confirmed the S3 yet let alone the RS.

sorry did it say 26K ?

Ill get my order in

Yeah £26k for the S3 and £35K for the RS3 :D

It's amazingly ugly - I'll give you that

Chris

Surprises me why they always show the A3 in bright yellow. The faster A3s, like the old S3 and this new RS model are likely to be bought by people who want the performance, but not the in-yer-face looks of the more garish cars like Evos and Imprezas... so why choose bright yellow, which is more of a SEAT colour!

Still not sure about the front of it either. Makes the car look angry, but not aggressive.

Performance looks promising though! I wonder if they'll address the trademark Audi rubber-feel steering? ;) :p

I wonder what affect its arrival (if true) will have on the competition. Will Subaru and Mitsubishi up the ante again to compete with the power-to-weight ratios...? Can only be good news for the performance car enthusiast! :)

...and the insurance companies...

Very true. With performance models available in so many manufacturers' car ranges, one does wonder whether we're heading for a repeat of the GTi syndrome, where insurers killed off the market after so many claims were made on such performance cars...

The RS3 piccies are photo-chopped ! Someone has cut and pasted the new A8 grill onto an S3 !! And I'd be a bit dubious about the 'official' information about its release - the last I heard there were no plans for an RS3 - what would be the point if they are bringing a reasonably powerful S3 on the market - buyers in the market for a fast hatch would probably bypass the S3 and go for the RS leaving a lot of unsold S's - it doesn't seem to make much commercial sense. Mind you that hasn't stopped BMW making a different model for every man woman and child on earth.

Audi still have a way to go to sort out the steering, but I think they've been talking about shuffling the engine rearwards to take a bit of weight off from over the front wheels on the new RS6, so there may be hope yet

Its an A3 not an S3. Heres the unb*stardised version....

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul_scott/A3_orig.jpg