This is the most powerful Audi S3 ever built, but crucially, it’s also the driftiest Audi S3 ever built. Welcome to either: a) your new not-so-undercover-anymore time travel machine, or b) an unwelcome, possibly permanent presence in your rearview mirror.
To the first point, then. Since before Early Man first trundled out of that cave, S3s have been heroically competent: desirable machines able to compress time and space in easily digestible premium suits. That remained the case right up until now, because the staid, sensible S3 has been given the RS3’s ‘torque splitter’ technology.
In AudiSpeak, it enables “fully variable torque distribution between the rear wheels,” using an “electronically controlled multiple disk clutch on each driveshaft to optimally distribute the torque between the rear wheel on the inside and the outside of the curve.”
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In HumanSpeak, it means if you give this new S3 a boot full of power, say, across a gloriously sandy horizon, it’ll merrily go sideways. Funny thing: We did just that in a prototype S3, and it was...fun. Playful. This Dynamic+ setting also increases the idle speed (for better launches), ramps up the throttle response, and quickens the gearshifts.
Speaking of quick, there’s more power to play with this time around, with Audi treating the omnipresent 2.0-liter TFSI four-cylinder gasoline engine to more horsies and torque. That results in new totals of 328hp and 420Nm, and a new 0-100kph time of 4.7sec. Top speed is of course limited to 250kph.
We’re told both engine and seven-speed DSG get a ‘sportier’ tune, the latter featuring gearshifts half as quick as before. Naturally, like with its big brother RS3, there’s a plethora of modes to contend with including that new Dynamic+ setting, along with a suite of suspension and steering upgrades, too.
Stuff like stiffer bearings and new pivot bearings, which Audi says gives the S3 better steering and grip. Naturally, it’s lower—15mm—than a regular A3, and gets special S3-spec tunes for the stability and other systems. The 18-inch rims are standard, while 19-inchers are an option. There are bigger vented front brake discs gripped by two-piston calipers. New brake pads, too.
And so to the second point, then: The S3 has a long way from its subtle roots, here doubling down on that new ‘singleframe’ new grille, a new set of spoilers and bumpers and gloss-black detailing, trim elements pinched from the RS parts bin, quad exhausts, and a host of metallic paint options.
The S3’s interior features a few tweaks—new air vents, fabric inlays, interior lighting, that sort of thing—but it’s a world away from the, well, world-class interior of the old, old S3. Very dark in here. Moody. Much screen (10.1 inches across) and many apps.
As for the price? Many zeroes in the figure, too.
More photos of the Audi S3 2024:
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
