Final shot edition delivers more power and a trick differential for AMG A45-matching spend.

ANOTHER street-sharp and racetrack-ready banger very likely set to be representing for the final time in its famously snap-crackle-pop petrol form has been announced for local sale.

The RS 3 is Audi’s smallest performance road car in a Renn Sport catalogue that is now starting to feature electric models.

In  that respect, the incoming RS 3 Sportback that the brand’s local distributor has announced for availability in the first quarter of next year is a final bow for the model’s fabulous five-cylinder petrol.

An engine whose configuration allows direct historic link to the original Ur-Quattro rally machines that elevated Audi to international stardom is set to be a victim of the marque’s transition away from CO2-emitting powertrains.

Audi Sport made clear two years ago it plans to electrify all future RS products; some will be mild hybrids – with 48 volt systems – so will have plug-in and a few are to join the fully battery-fed RS e-tron GT coupe that released here recently.

They’ve also dropped by clues that the turbocharged five-pot, which has served since 2011, has no place in this plan: So, the RS 3 can be considered a parting shot, a sort of sizzler send-off to pure internal combustion. 

It’s going to serve up appropriately hot - 294kW of power (same as before) and 500Nm (so, up 20Nm) of torque gives it a shot at competing with another premium German marque’s hot hatch that is facing a similar fate as Audi’s model and conceives in the same squat barping four-wheel-drive five-door format.

Just to reinforce impression that the RS 3 is gunning for the Mercedes AMG 45, Audi NZ has priced its newcomer at $112,400 – so, just $100 below the entry point for the tri-star tearaway. The previous model was a $108k buy-in.

New Zealand is the No.1 market in the world for Audi RS product on a per-head-of-capita basis, reminds Audi NZ general manager Dean Sheed. 

“Kiwis (have) shown a great fondness for its useable, outstanding performance.

“New Zealand is the number one market in the world for Audi RS product. The third generation RS 3 Sportback will be our most accomplished edition of this model – and I’m sure Kiwi performance fans are looking forward to its arrival.”

This being a period of historic transition reflects in how the RS3 has been developed – though it’s mainly about pure firepower, this engine being the most powerful version yet fitted to an Audi production model,  this car also offers extra flavour with other enhancements, imcluding a pukka drift mode. Yeah, from a quattro. That takes some talent.

With zero to 100kmh coming up in 3.8 seconds, another supercar slayer is born.

Power channels via a seven-speed direct shift transmission with various modes, including full manual, and there are as many driving modes as there are forward gears: Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, Efficiency, RS Individual, RS Performance, and RS Torque Rear. The digital rev counter changes colour and flashes when approaching the rev limiter to signal to the driver that it's time to change up.

The fun starts with RS Individual, where personal preferences for the adaptive dampers, steering effort, transmission programming, engine sound, and the amount of aggressiveness of the torque-vectoring rear differential can be stored. RS modes dial back stability control too, but it can also be fully defeated.

As in the latest and still-to-hit-New Zealand Volkswagen Golf R, the RS 3 has an active rear differential  in place of the regular A3's Haldex clutch pack.

Management of torque distribution is not only to the front and rear axles; the multiplate clutches vary torque applied to the left- and right-rear wheels. Depending on the driving dynamics mode, up to 50 percent of the engines torque can be applied separately to each rear wheel.

As Audi describes it, instead of braking the inside wheel in a corner to create yaw to help the car around a corner, the differential directs power to the outer wheel to help the rear end rotate. This fundamentally changes the driving characteristics. All-wheel-drive cars, of course, normally understeer at the limit. In its most aggressive settings, the RS3 actions like a tail-happy rear-wheel-drive car, the brand suggests.

The refit is, of course, is a bit of a restyle. The whole car is wider and more haunched than the donor of course and the front end is the most menacing within this family; in part through the nose having been widened and meted a special honeycomb grille.

Matrix LED headlights also feature and the LED segments on each deliver a vaguely cheesy party trick by displaying a chequered flag motif when the car is on the move. Unlocking or locking the car, one side cycles through the letters of the car; spelling out ‘R S 3’.

The Sporthatch achieves a relatively modest roof spoiler, and both cars get new rear bumpers with a large oval exhaust outlet on each side.

The usual RS makeover has been applied to the interior, including leather-trimmed sports seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel and gearchange paddles.

The design and layout of the 'virtual cockpit' digital instrumentation has been revamped especially for the type. Along with readouts more suited to driving on a racetrack, there's a few different ways to visualise the rising revs - including a new 'RS Runway' style.