Let’s say you’ve got a little more than $50k to burn on something fast. Now you could spend on it a very loaded Chevrolet Camaro SS, or a BMW M2, but!—at some point you convinced another person to have relations with you, possibly twice. Audi’s got the answer for you, and it’s the 2017 and 2018 Audi RS3 Sedan.
Finally, America’s getting an RS3 for the first time ever. The good news is it packs a decidedly crazy 400 horsepower, 354 lb-ft 2.5-liter turbo inline-five, making it significantly weirder and more Audi-ish than your average four, six or eight-cylinder car. Fast, too.
The bad news is the Euro-chic RS3 Sportback is not coming to America. We Americans are better about buying hatchbacks lately, but not at that price point. Instead we get the RS3 Sedan, but no one should be complaining.
Audi says it will come in at $54,500 for the limited number of 2017 models, and $54,900 for the other 2018 models, excluding destination charge. It comes with neat stuff like the Virtual Cockpit, all-wheel drive, and the firing order and noise that makes all the car boys and car girls scream with delight.
Sounds fun! Will it be a worthy competitor to the M2 and AMG CLA45, which is also a sedan? Who can say, but it’s priced to compete. We’ll see the car at the New York Auto Show next week for its big fancy American debut.