Last time we checked, Audi was testing the next RS3’s hardware on the modified body of an S3 Sportback mule. Not any more, as our spies caught Ingolstadt’s engineers in a camouflaged prototype of the production RS3 Sportback, complete with all the usual RS styling traits like the honeycomb grille, bloated wheel arches, reworked bumpers and two big oval exhaust tips at the rear end of the car.
There have been conflicting reports about what powertrain will motivate the new MQB platform-riding RS3. It was initially thought that the previous model’s 2.5-liter inline-five turbo would return in an improved form, but recently, German media, including Automotorundsport magazine, have suggested that Audi will instead use the VW Group’s EA888 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four.
The 2.0 turbo unit was recently displayed in its highest state of tune yet on the TT Quattro Sport Concept where it was rated at a remarkable (for its displacement) 414hp (420PS) and 450Nm (332 lb-ft).
Whichever mill finds its way under the bonnet of the RS3, it should deliver somewhere between 350 and 400-horses.
Along with the pictured five-door Sportback, Audi may also build RS3 versions of the three-door hatch and the sedan models of the compact series.
There’s no set date yet for the new RS3’s reveal, but potential candidates include the Paris Motor Show this October and the Geneva Salon next March.
By John Halas
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoopS
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