Audi announced it (with the Limousine in 2016 and with the Sportback in 2017) with pomp and circumstance: the new RS3, currently available in Portugal, would arrive with the greatest power ever offered in this model and how the most powerful in the segment — 400 hp . Short lasting sun! The German preparer ABT has just unveiled a transformed version with nothing more, nothing less, that 500 hp!
Keeping the same five-cylinder 2.5 liter turbo that equips the ex-factory version, the RS3 prepared by ABT Sportsline adds, however, an ABT Power R power kit, able to extract over 100 hp than in the series model. With the preparer not revealing, however, if there are also improvements in terms of torque and if “its” RS3 manages, effectively, to offer more than the 480 Nm announced by the original model.
And because with more power comes more responsibility, the RS3 ABT also equips a new braking system, with 380 mm discs, hidden behind the 19 and 20 inch wheels made by ABT.
In addition to these improvements, changes are also planned in the suspension springs, as well as in the stabilizer bars, and the company is also working on the adjustable suspension, in order to achieve greater efficiency.
The exhaust system was also changed, replaced by a custom-made solution, with four exhaust outlets of 102 mm each, in matte black, in order to make the sound of this RS3 even more special.
It remains to be disclosed, however, which are the real gains, in terms of benefits, of this ABT version, compared to the regular model. Which, it should be remembered, already stands out for being a true “rocket on wheels” — an impression confirmed by the 4.1 seconds announced for acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h , as well as through an advertised top speed of 250 km/h, or optionally, 280 km/h, thanks to the raising of the electronic maximum speed limit.
Finally, and because the look also counts, ABT has also planned a particularly aggressive exterior kit, the result of a specific front spoiler, new grille with RS3 logo, as well as side and rear skirts. With the most “picuinhas” still able to customize the interior of the car, with a series of components in carbon fiber, personalized mats and other accessories.
