Now that the new Audi RS3 is out, people are truly wondering whether it’s worth the extra money. From the spec sheet we can pretty much tell that the power didn’t really go up at all for European models and it has a very small bump for the US versions. Sure, it’s nice to get the new tech and design of the new car, but from a performance standpoint, it’s a hard case to make. Therefore, revisiting the old version could shine some light into the matter.
That’s especially true if we’re also checking out the competition. By that, we’re referring to the BMW M2 Competition which is also bound to go out of production pretty soon, to be replaced by the G87 model. Until then though, this here is a classic drag race between eternal rivals, with the classic caveats too. By those we’re referring to the all-wheel drive setup of the RS3 and the rear-wheel drive one on the M2.
In terms of power, the two are pretty evenly matched. The BMW has the edge by 10 horsepower and some 50 lb-ft of torque, since it has a bigger engine under the hood. However, the BMW is also the heavier car here, by some 62 lbs. Nevertheless, the Audi will have the upper hand for sure in the standing start runs, as the video actually confirms. Well, at least when you use Sport mode because in ‘Normal’ mode, the RS3 didn’t build boost and was left for dead.
It’s also quite interesting how the M2 Competition, even though it started off slow managed to pass the RS3 rather fast, after just a few hundred yards. Furthermore, the M2 won every other race in this video, be it in Sport mode, Normal mode, rolling or not. Quite an impressive showing, for sure.
