The A3 has, until recently, lagged behind it's 4, 5 and 6 siblings in the S and RS stakes. Audi brought us the weakling S3 in 1999 with the 1.8 turbo engine from the Golf and 207bhp. The S3 was uprated in 2006 and got the 2 litre turbo engine and 261bhp.
Then in 2011 Audi gave us the RS3 Sportback. A five door, 340bhp, 7 speed, 2.5 litre fire-breathing monster with 340bhp. The RS3 could sprint from 0-60 in 4.6 seconds and the UK's entire consignment sold out in days.
In response Audi has announced that another 250 RS3 Sportbacks will come to the UK. The price is £39,950 and for that not inconsiderable sum you'll get such goodies as a graphite engine block and carbon figure front wings - which help bring the weight down to 1,575kg.
Audi is currently recording exceptional performance. Sales are up 19% from 2010 to 1,302,650 worldwide with 113,703 of those in the UK. They have won Le Mans 11 out of the past 14 times and have just bought Ducati - and the VW Group have just purchased Porsche.
Maybe, with all their success, Audi will find it in their hearts to help out the Nurburgring. After all, most of its new models are tested around the 13 mile circuit.
