This 2022 Audi RS 3 is Illegal… But It Sounds GLORIOUS!
For legal and reliability reasons, Ingolstadt left power on the table when it came to the new RS 3. This tuner just sent it.
In stock form, the 2022 Audi RS 3 is no slouch. The turbocharged 2.5-liter five-cylinder makes a robust 401 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of twist, which is enough poke to make the sprint from zero to 60 mph in just 3.6 seconds. Reviews for the diminutive performance car have been excellent, and after attending the first drive event last month, AudiWorld’s own Michael S. Palmer called it an “absolute blast on the street, track, and skidpad.”
Now as good as that sounds, the engineers at Ingolstadt obviously had to leave some power on the table, both for legal and reliability reasons. However, tuners have already been tweaking the greasy bits, and the folks at German tuning house Manhart have goosed output to almost 500 horsepower, which you’re certain to feel when you drop the hammer. But in this latest clip, we get evidence that some folks have gone even further.
This Turbo Blue RS 3 makes several pulls on the dyno, and delivers a whopping 506 horsepower to the wheels, which means it could be making as much as 20 percent more than that at the crank. And better still? Even thought the little five-pot has a pretty good exhaust note stock, this baby wails like a banshee in the upper register, and if that noise doesn’t move you? You might have to turn in your gearhead card.
Unfortunately, as I mentioned in the headline, there’s a big catch to this big power bump — and it’s not just the prospect of turning the quattro all-wheel drive system into metal shavings. Because since this RS 3 has lost its catalytic converters, it’s no longer street legal, and you can forget about keeping it registered in any area that requires emissions testing. That said, given how popular catalytic converter theft is with the methamphetamine crowd of late, you might be able to plead your way out of a ticket if you did happen to get stopped. Enjoy the video!
Photos: YouTube