Schaeffler EV RS3 is the Future Right Now

Is that really an RS3

Audi has always been synonymous with the number four. The brand’s iconic badge features four interlinked rings. And it also claims credit as being the manufacturer who popularized four-wheel drive in passenger cars, with its quattro system.

The latest car to continue this tradition of four being a symbolic number and design philosophy in Audi’s world is a very radical RS3. To most the RS3 is Audi’s desirable five-cylinder junior performance car. But the RS3 we are referring to features four electric motors and can do things the factory RS3 can’t even fathom.  

Who are Schaeffler?

A joint venture project between Schaeffler technologies and renowned Audi aftermarket tuner, ABT, this battery-powered RS3 has cartoonish performance potential. It looks vastly different to a standard RS3, with an array of reshaped body panels, all in the interest of increasing aerodynamic efficiency and stability at speed.

The battery-powered RS3 was originally conceived as a proof of concept project by Schaeffler, to showcase its electrical engineering technology, specifically applied to high-performance automotive solutions. Schaeffler acts as a technology consulting company to teams that compete in Formula E, the world’s most competitive electric vehicle racing series, and the lessons it has learned there have incredible application potential to road cars. Especially the building of very fast road cars, powered by batteries, which is the whole point of this RS3.  

>>Join the conversation about this Schaeffler Battery Powered RS3 right here in Audiworld.com.

Saving the planet and smoking tires

Schaeffler might have the battery and electric motor expertise but transferring those skills from Formula E racing to a road car, isn’t simple. This is where ABT entered the RS3 project. With a history of making Audi road cars faster and better to drive, since 1991, ABT was the perfect partner for Schaeffler. Together they have delivered an RS3 which has a specification more impressive than most supercars and performance to potentially shame them.

The anchor elements of this RS3 project car are the electric motors, of which there are four, each delivering 220kW. Total system output is 880kW, which is 1200hp when measured in conventional petrolhead language. That’s a nearly ridiculous amount of power and it converts to absolutely scintillating performance. 

>>Join the conversation about this Schaeffler Battery Powered RS3 right here in Audiworld.com.

The speed potential

The advantage of running four electric motors, with one powering each of the drive wheels, is that there are nearly no efficiency losses in the drivetrain. Schaeffler claims their RS3 to have a battery output to the power conversion efficiency of 95%.

The acceleration numbers would appear to support that claim quite convincingly. There aren’t many cars that will run 0-124mph in 7 seconds, which is what this electric RS3 is capable of. Perhaps an even more amazing statistic is its ability to run very high speeds, in reverse.

Electric cars are mostly single ratio vehicles, which means they can run comically fast speeds in reverse. Schaeffler demonstrated this by powering its RS3 to a peak velocity of 124mph, essentially driving ‘the wrong’ way. Definitely not something to be tried at home or anywhere else but a very, very wide and open test track.  

>>Join the conversation about this Schaeffler Battery Powered RS3 right here in Audiworld.com.

Formula E applications

For motorsport and performance car enthusiasts, who dread the transition from internal-combustion engines to battery-powered cars, this electric RS3 is a symbol of hope. Its performance is immense and delivered dramatically, showcasing that the future of clean energy vehicles won’t have to be one of slow, autonomous driving pods. It also vindicated that motorsport will serve a purpose in the future too, with Formula E having essentially enabled the project.

Automotive traditionalists mock Formula E as being irrelevant and devoid of spectacle, but although it might be quiet, the power outputs and speeds generated are nothing short of spectacular.

 The Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Formula E team has provided source technology and engineering experience to convert an already impressive RS3 into something worthy of hypercar performance comparisons.