Many of us are happy to accept that we’ll never be able to afford a fancy European supercar. It’s why posts about mid-engined exotics can often generate less reaction than ones on cars like the BMW M3 and Audi RS3, which might seem almost as unattainable today, but could well be a realistic ownership proposition at some point in the future.

And while you’re waiting for the financial stars to align so you can buy that RS3, you can always make steps down that road by buying an S3 or a regular A3. I mean, the A3’s just a slightly nicer VW Golf, so you wouldn’t need to be that wealthy to afford one, right?

Wrong, at least according to data Audi gathered for the North American launch of the 2022 A3, S3 and RS3. The company provided sample customer profiles for the three versions of its compact that included gender, age, and marital status, but the thing that really stood out to us was the median household income (HHI) for each vehicle.

Audi expects even customers buying the regular A3 to have an HHI of around $120,000, which rises to $145,000 for the sporty S3. And if you want the Nürburgring-monstering RS3 and its fancy new drift mode, you better be bringing in a serious $200k a year or you’re not on Audi’s radar and the salesmen may well redirect you to the nearest Kia showroom.

Driven: The 2022 Audi S3 And A3 Are Your Fast And Sensible Baby Executive Sedans

For context, the median HHI across the U.S. was $67,521 in 2020. Which means you need to be making about twice the national average just to get yourself into a 2.0-liter front-wheel-drive sedan with four rings on the nose by Audi’s calculations, and more than three times the average to take an RS3 home.

The 2022 A3 starts at $33,900 for a basic FWD car, but prices rise to $43,200 for the Prestige with Quattro transmission. From there it’s only a small jump to the $44,900 S3, whose Quattro system is tested by a more powerful 306 hp 2.0-liter motor, while the 401 hp (394 hp in Europe), five-cylinder RS3 is likely to cost around $60,000.

Still want to be able to stick that Audi fob on the bar but can barely afford a drink let alone make enough bread to hit Audi’s outrageous $120k HHI target? We got you covered with this Copart find. A 2006 2.0 Premium located in Des Moines, IA, it’s currently bid to just $500 and looks fine…apart from the zombie ice pick dents in the hood.