I was slightly amused to watch a recent Jason Cammisa video, where a new RS3 soundly walked an S3; making the argument for its existence if nothing else did. Of course, I found it really funny that a 200 thrashed both of them easily! Nevertheless, the song of the RS3 was as impressive as its performance. That’s thanks to 401 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque from its turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-5 mounted sideways up front. It’ll demolish the 60 run in 3.3 seconds, and can do a sub-12-second 1/4 mile on street tires. It even turns well thanks to crazy computer controls and its weird reverse-staggered tire setup (265/30 up front, 245/35 out back). The major downside? Well, it’s expensive. In fact, one of the few “free” (no cost) options is strangely today’s wild shade of Kyalami Green. Let’s take a look:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2023 Audi RS3 on eBay
Year: 2023
Model: RS3
VIN: WUAG4DGY5PA902138
Engine: 2.5 liter turbocharged inline-5
Transmission: 7-speed S-Tronic automatic
Mileage: 41 mi
Location: Miami, Florida
Price: $88,000 Buy It Now
2023 Audi RS 3 Sedan
Ingolstadt’s Furious Super Saloon in Iconic RS Livery – Handsomely Appointed in Unmolested Factory Delivery Condition.For explicit information and provenance details please visit our website or inquire within.
So this one was ordered in standard colors, wild though the exterior may be, at no extra cost – meaning it should be a ~$60,000 car. Still not cheap, but this isn’t the year 2000 anymore. But there were optional extras added in; the $2,750 RS Technology Package (with MMI, B&O sound, and a head-up display), the $2,750 Carbon Package (guess!), the $1k sport exhaust system, and the $750 Black Optics package. Still, by my math (and Audi’s…) that’s only around 8k in options with the other two minor add-ins, meaning this dealer is asking about $20k over MSRP. Nearly 90k for a Golf-based car? Wow. It’s a neat car, but it’s not that neat.
-Carter
Back in 2018 I was between a new RS3 or a new S4. It would be the 7th Audi I’d bought.. They were pretty much the same exact price. Ultimately I felt the design in every single term – interior, exterior, wheels, materials… went to the S4 and that’s what I bought. I love the 5-Cylinder part of the RS3 and that would have been neat to have along side my 1985 URQ. But that was about it. The rest of this I agree with your overall sentiment … neat .. but not something I wanted. And looking at the new interior here… something I still don’t want. Each new model year it seems I am pushed farther away from Audi. I don’t know what they are doing over there in Ingolstadt but I already know our 2021 SQ5 will be replaced with a Macan S. Someday I will probably wish I had bought an RS3… maybe.
nice car..when I was considering my 997.2, I also thought about a TT/RS…but the complexity of the turbos and AWD steered me away…I sort of feel the same way about the RS3..great car…at $60K…at 88K, too close to Porsche territory…certainly a Cayman GTS would be fairly close..and a lightly used GT4…. and those have simpler mechanicals.
No hatch, no care.