Audi Sport presents the new RS Q3 Sportback extending the product range to include an all-new model. The Q3 Sportback offers outstanding performance, athletic design and maximum everyday usability. The Audi RS Q3 Sportback will be available to order in Irish dealerships by the end of 2019. The Audi RS Q3 Sportback is synonymous with strength and outstanding performance, virtues that are also reflected in the design. The Singleframe with no colour-contrasting surround in the compact SUV creates an even sharper impression. The gloss black grill with three-dimensional honeycomb structure is inset deeper and directly into the RS bumper with its large side air inlets. This high-performance sports car underscores its performance aspiration with a more muscular body with pronounced muscles over the wheel arches, which have been flared by 10 millimetres.
The rear design also appears very powerful. With the low rear window and the roof edge spoiler with RS-specific spoiler lip in gloss black, the RS Q3 Sportback appears even wider. The low-slung roof line culminates in strong, flat sloping D-pillars. The high-performance Sportback comes standard with LED headlights. Matrix LED headlights with dynamic indicators and RS-specific darkened trims are available as an option. The rear lights also feature LED technology.
Within the Audi Q3 family, the RS Q3 Sportback (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 8.9 – 8.8; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 204 – 202) is the sporty flagship. The performance figures for the compact engines are compelling: five-cylinder, 400HP power output, 480 Nm of torque, quattro all-wheel drive. The five-cylinder engine is a modern classic. Last year, Audi Sport received the sought-after “International Engine of the Year Award” for the 2.5 TFSI engine for the ninth consecutive time. The multi-award-winning five-cylinder engine gains a good 17 percent increase in power at an unchanged displacement of 2,480 cc. The engine’s maximum torque is available over the very broad rev range between 1,950 and 5,850 rpm. The RS Q3 Sportback sprints from zero to 100 km/h in just 4.5 seconds. The top speed is regulated at 250 km/h or an optional 280 km/h.
The power from the five-cylinder engine flows via a seven-speed S tronic to the quattro permanent all-wheel drive that distributes the power as needed between the axles via a multi-plate clutch. The wheel‑selective torque control perfects the safe and agile handling. The Audi drive select dynamic handling system influences the quattro drive and other components such as steering, suspension, S tronic, engine characteristic and sound. Depending on the selected equipment variant, there is a choice of five or six modes: comfort, auto, dynamic, efficiency and individual or, as an alternative to the individual mode, the two new RS modes RS1 and RS2. Via the MMI the driver can adjust and save the two RS modes individually. Simply pressing the new “RS MODE” steering wheel button provides rapid access to the two new modes and allows the driver to switch between modes.
The standard RS sport suspension lowers the body by 10 millimetres compared with the Q3 Sportback. Its consistently sporty tuning satisfies the basic requirements for the outstanding handling of the two sport compacts. The RS-tuned progressive steering also conveys close contact with the road even on fast bends. At the front axle with its MacPherson design featuring lower wishbones, the track width is 1,590 millimetres. In the rear, the four-link design provides a track width of 1,583 millimetres. For the first time on a compact high-performance SUV, Audi Sport offers 21-inch wheels in various rim designs. Behind the standard 20-inch or optional 21-inch wheels, the all-new six-piston RS steel brake system works with ventilated and perforated disks measuring 375 millimetres (front) and 310 millimetres (rear, not perforated).
The athletic design of the exterior is echoed in the car’s interior. The emphasis on the horizontal lines conveys a generous sense of space. The air-conditioning control unit, the centre console and the MMI touch display are tilted toward the driver by ten degrees – the entire cockpit is very much designed with the driver in mind. The engine can be started using the optional start-stop button with its red ring. Sport seats in black leather/Alcantara with RS embossing express the athletic character of the RS Q3 Sportback. The new RS Q3 Sportback is designed as a fully-fledged five-seater model and also offers maximum everyday usability for all their sportiness. The rear seats can be moved fore-aft as standard by 130 millimetresin the RS Q3 Sportback; their three-way split backrests can be tilted in seven stages. The luggage compartment holds 530 litres, with the backrests folded down the figure rises to 1,400 litres. Eight paint colours are available for the RS Q3 Sportback, including the RS-specific colours Kyalami green and Nardo gray. Customised paint finishes are available from Audi exclusive. The RS Q3 Sportback will go on sale at dealerships in Ireland by the end of 2019.
