Hot Hatch or Hottest Hatch? Audi RS3 Debuts Packing 367 Horsepower

So, yeah, Audi is launching an über A3 in the type of the new RS3 Sportback. Powered by a turbocharged 2.5-liter inline 5-cylinder engine, it pays respect to Audi’s proud history of 5-cylinder Quattro rally automobiles.

We loved the earlier-generation RS3 hatch, and this one particular promises to be even greater. Energy rises from 340 to 367 horsepower, and maximum torque is rated at 343 lb-ft and offered from 1625 to 5550 rpm. The energy is channeled to all 4 wheels by way of a 6-speed “wet” dual-clutch automatic a manual transmission, disappointingly, is not offered. Zero to 62 mph is said to take 4.3 seconds, and best speed is governed at either 155 mph or—if you spend for it—174 mph. That latter figure is higher than in the compact Mercedes-Benz CLA45 and GLA45 AMG models.

The engine will exhale by means of an active exhaust that can open post-muffler flaps for a fuller sound based on load and engine speed. The 5-pot utilizes an iron block, is hand-assembled by a team in Györ, Hungary, and has max increase pressure of 18.9 psi. The compression ratio stands at 8.:1.

In a segment initial, Audi will offer you carbon-ceramic brakes up front, where they’ll be pinched by 8-piston calipers, and Audi has calibrated the Quattro all-wheel drive program for more tail-satisfied dynamics. As the earlier car was a bit challenging to rotate midcorner, this is a welcome shift. A brake-based torque-vectoring system is present and can act on either the front or the rear axle, even though the suspension has been beefed up and has its personal aluminum steering knuckles.

The 19-inch wheels—available in aluminum, matte gray, or glossy black—are wrapped in 235/35 rubber as standard as an selection, extrawide 255/30s are accessible for the front wheels. The stability-control application incorporates a Sport mode and can be totally defeated. Finally, if Audi’s weight figures are to be believed, the 3350-pound curb weight is down by some 120 pounds versus the last automobile. Credit the VW Group’s modular MQB architecture, which underpins the vehicle.

The huge intakes up front feed much more air to both the engine and transmission coolers, and the vehicle also sports wider fender flares, new sill extensions, a hatchback spoiler, aluminum-appear mirror caps, and a pair of exhaust cannons out back (the last 2 items are RS trademarks). Inside are a set of aggressive sport seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel wrapped in leather and faux suede, and faux-suede-trimmed door panels. In Europe at least, buyers can upgrade the seats to carbon-shelled versions, though the reality that they have integrated side airbags offers us hope that they could be presented in America.

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But we’d have to obtain confirmation of the car itself 1st. Audi is nonetheless contemplating whether or not to supply an RS3 in the U.S., but if it did come here, it would be in the kind of a 4-door sedan (see our rendering here) and not as a 5-door hatchback. Sedan or hatch, we like. And we want.

Hot Hatch or Hottest Hatch? Audi RS3 Debuts Packing 367 Horsepower

Lightning Lap 2014: We Attack VIR with 25 of the Year’s Hottest Overall performance Vehicles

We hold it as gospel that a lap time on a fast and technical circuit is the purest distillation of a performance car’;s ability.

• MARC URBANO AND


• MICHAEL SIMARI

The Contenders

Base Price*/ Price As Tested

Power, HP

Weight, Pounds

LB/ HP

	$ 24,220/$ 25,610	197	2720	13.8
	$ 26,845/$ 29,375	252	3180	12.6
	$ 27,090/$ 30,790	268	3262	12.2
	$ 26,915/$ 32,510	210	3135	14.9
	$ 44,025/$ 46,875	320	3519	11.0
	$ 59,995/$ 59,995	420	3952	9.4
	$ 63,480/$ 65,665	460	3415	7.4
	$ 44,495/$ 48,622	306	3722	12.2
	$ 48,375/$ 58,845	355	3545	10.0
	$ 35,290/$ 38,190	305	3388	11.1
	$ 111,295/$ 117,885	560	4442	7.9
	$ 77,400/$ 80,350	425	3581	8.4
	$ 75,000/$ 75,000	505	3861	7.6
	$ 111,925/$ 117,825	550	3918	7.1
	$ 99,925/$ 105,800	550	4415	8.0
	$ 100,695/$ 109,435	577	4400	7.6
	$ 78,460/$ 100,870	325	3079	9.5
	$ 182,595/$ 196,795	550	3671	6.7
	$ 174,925/$ 174,925	550	3998	7.3
	$ 148,225/$ 157,325	530	4033	7.6
	$ 151,585/$ 151,880	600	3883	6.5
	$ 182,050/$ 198,380	560	3545	6.3
	$ 134,680/$ 134,680	640	3375	5.3
	$ 326,338/$ 437,844	730	3872	5.3
	$ 847,975/$ 875,175	887	3724	4.2

*Base price includes all performance-enhancing options. †2015 model.
Bold = Best in Class

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It’s believed that James Madison strode the White House and the War of 1812 was rapidly becoming the War of 1813 when an oak sapling poked through the soil in a southern Virginia meadow to witness its first sunrise and splash of rainwater. The tree’s shadow steadily grew as nearby Danville’s ­cotton mills and tobacco warehouses thrived on slave labor, as the vanquished Confederates retreated from advancing Yankees, and, a century later, as water cannons blasted civil rights marchers.

In 1957, a bunch of North Carolina racers cut a track around the tree, the majestic oak on the hill standing as the farthest and highest point of a long, meandering, European-style circuit. Life for the tree got a lot noisier as the cars apexed directly under its arching boughs before blatting back toward the pits and the crowds. For a while, peace returned as the track fell into disuse. But in 2000, the place revived, and some very fast machines again screamed under its leafy canopy.

A year ago last July, the old oak fell over and died. Hearts broke, and attempts were made to clone the tree with a replacement. In the meantime, nothing remains but a bare patch on a rise at the far end of Virginia International Raceway (VIR). They still call the corner “Oak Tree” and probably always will, but without the visual reference of that old friend, the turn is harder and rather less gratifying.

Alas, things change.

With our eighth Lightning Lap assembly of the current automotive elite, other things have changed as well, though not significantly. The goal remains to go flat-out in our market’s fastest new cars and set benchmark lap times on this, one of the longest road courses in North America at 4.1 miles. But this year we dispensed with any special classes, such as for cop cars. We considered airport tugs and lawn equipment, but ended up with a fairly straightforward set of 25 cars arrayed in 5 classes defined strictly by price. The bookends are the $ 25,610 Ford Fiesta ST in our LL1 class and the $ 875,175 Porsche 918 Spyder in LL5.

We also reconfigured our sectors to ­create better resolution, now stacking each one so that together the sectors comprise a complete lap [see Results and Sector Times]. Before, we counted sector times only as individual, noncontiguous segments with 2- to 3-second spreads from the quickest car to the slowest. The new method now has longer sectors with spreads of up to 10 seconds and allows those who wade deeply into our extensive tables (painstakingly rendered by people who don’t get enough credit but will get a pizza lunch out of it, eventually) to more easily determine where each car stands rela­tive to another as the lap progresses.

Having been rained on repeatedly during our usual September/October dates, we scheduled this event for May. We still feared precipitation but got blessedly little over our 3 full days of hot lapping. And every time we turned into Oak Tree (soon to be renamed Doritos Jacked Enchilada Supreme Flavored Oak Tree we’re told), we thought of the arboreal spirit that once inhabited this idyllic place.

Rulebook

All of our contenders are unmodified production cars, just as your local dealer would deliver them. We set tire pressures to factory recommendations and record our laps with Racelogic GPS data loggers that are nearly identical to the hardware with which we test every other car you see on these pages. For LL, we request cars equipped with all available performance-enhancing options to achieve the best possible results from any given vehicle. Optional equipment is included in the prices posted here. We moved the price breaks up $ 5000 this year to reflect inflation. All the prices and class boundaries are found in the chart above.

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Lightning Lap 8: In Depth

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New, Bright, and Shiny This year, we supplemented our usual VBOX test gear with 2 examples of Racelogic’s newest toy, the VBOX LapTimer. We like that it records GPS data in fine 20-Hz resolution and that it writes directly to an SD card. It also looks pro-grade, with an anodized aluminum case, LED display, and industrial-grade LEMO connectors. At $ 1050, this is the priciest unit that Racelogic makes for the gentleman racer. At least the predictive lap timing, a program that displays a plus or minus bogey in real time on the screen, and the analysis software are also included. www.vboxmotorsport.com

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Honda Civic Sort R Idea

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2015 Mercedes-AMG C63 Estate

With out a doubt, the most recent C63—rechristened Mercedes-AMG C63 rather than Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG—is a fantastic beast. We haven’t driven the hottest C-class Benz yet, but with the base model putting down 469 horsepower and the further-zooty C63 S throwing down a 503-hp gauntlet, there’s no way it is not going to be wonderful, huge gobs of enjoyable, proper? In our thoughts, there’s just 1 way to make it greater, and that is to give it a bigger ass. Meet the C63 Estate. We want. Study Far more ››

Nissan Pulsar NISMO Notion

In the U.S., Nissan’s little-car lineup is like watching late-night skin flicks on Cinemax—you’re technically acquiring what you want, but a lot is left to be desired. In Europe, on the other hand, Nissan’s compact rides are considerably far more properly equipped and satisfying. Take, for example, the Nissan Note, a loose cousin to our Versa Note hatchback on the Continent, the Note is very practically a premium car. Here, the “Versa” badge marks it as deeply flawed. At the 2014 Paris auto show, Nissan showed off its latest European-marketplace compact—the Pulsar—and it follows the pattern by appearing a lot more intriguing than any modest vehicle the brand peddles to Americans. Read Much more ››

Volkswagen Golf Alltrack

Virtually a quarter century ago, Volkswagen tried and failed to jump-start off the crossover segment in Europe. The Golf Nation, an ultratall version of the second-generation Golf, was launched in 1990 and killed prior to 1992. It certainly didn’t catch on. Read A lot more ››

Volkswagen Tristar Notion

Volkswagen is an auto company soon after our van-loving hearts sure, typical, everyday vans aren’t the coolest factors in the planet, but VW has been churning out a steady stream of awesome hauler variants—conceptual or otherwise—that truly get us going. Now, the automaker has unveiled its newest van-based creation, the Tristar concept, at the IAA commercial-automobile conference in Hannover, and it appears nothing like a van at all. Study Much more ››

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The 5 Hottest 2014 Paris Debuts That You will By no means, Ever Drive

Sacrebleu! The 7 Hottest Debuts of the 2014 Paris Auto Show

Ah, Paris, a city of romance, fashion, and at-times pretentious locals who just love to scoff at oafish Americans like us. Besides hosting 4 annual fashion weeks—what, Frenchies, one isn’t good enough?—and sporting more cafés than citizens, Paris also happens to host an auto show every other year.

The city’s average of 0.5 auto shows annually (it rotates with the Frankfurt show in Germany) strikes us as odd given the vehicular hotness that tends to show up in the City of Light, and this year’s edition was no different. The awesomeness was spread among both concept and production cars; these are the 6 cars we think the dozens of other debuts can’t hold a baguette to:

2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale A Spider

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Honda Civic Type R Concept

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Infiniti Q80 Inspiration Concept

We hope you had smelling salts ready when you opened this story; Infiniti claims that “seeing this vast and imposing car for the first time can suck the air from your lungs. Like a blow to the stomach.” (We’ll let you catch your breath.) Although that statement paints a somewhat comical image—imagine hundreds of auto executives and journalists simultaneously doubling over in pain while gasping for air on the floor of the 2014 Paris auto show—there’s no denying that the Q80 Inspiration concept is a slightly unexpected yet comprehensive and modern design from a company that just spent a couple of years simply trying to get people to understand the rearrangement of its nomenclature. READ MORE ››

2015 Jaguar XE

Let’s start with the really good news that, well before driving it, we can confidently state that the new Jaguar XE definitely isn’t an X-type.  READ MORE ››

Lamborghini Asterion LPI 910-4 Hybrid Concept

Behold the Lamborghini Asterion LPI 910-4 hybrid, unveiled the day before the 2014 Paris auto show. Despite Lamborghini’s demure insistence that the Asterion is no more than a “Plug-in Hybrid technology demonstrator,” the reserved-for-an-exotic styling, production-friendly body contours, and hybrid powertrain perhaps hint at a different future. READ MORE ››

2015 Mercedes-AMG GT / GTS

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Sacrebleu! The 7 Hottest Debuts of the 2014 Paris Auto Show