This is Quite Possibly the Most Powerful RS3 in the World
Slideshow: Initially set to begin their quarter-mile quest with a B5 Audi S4, Malaka MotorSports did an about-face straight into the sub-ten-second club with this RS 3.
That's not a Dragster
You don't see much drag racing footage in Audi's advertising. Likewise, a visit to your local quarter-mile playground is more likely to turn up numerous Honda Civics than it is to yield even one RS 3. That's not to say Audi's little sedan that could can't cope on the strip—AWD, a 400 hp inline five-cylinder, and sub-four-second 0-60 mph times from the factory give it the ability to dust off plenty of unsuspecting competition.
Model Shift
Brothers George and Stav Tsitlakidis, owners of Malaka MotorSports, have built their fair share of hot Audis in the past, including working with other talented technicians to develop VR6 swaps for B5 S4s and A4s. So this project might not have happened when it did if it weren't for Autobahn Club of Los Angeles Audi buff Erik Dietz opening their eyes to the possibilities of the RS 3. As they told Super Street, they "fell in love" with Dietz's RS 3 at an Audi drive event: "From the very first check engine light, we were hooked and the rest, as they say, is history."
>>Join the conversation about this modified RS3 right here in the Audi World Forum!
Power Impatient
George then ran into fast-Audi five-cylinder guru Hank Iroz, who informed him the hot set-up for 2017 and 2018 RS 3s was currently coming out his partnership with U.K. outfit Custom Code. George was convinced by what he heard and soon picked up the 2018 sedan you see here from Audi Calabasas—within a week equipping it with a Stage II turbo system from IROZ/Custom Code. As we've seen before, once you start adding power it's hard to stop, and only two months after the turbo kit went in a larger IMS850 turbo was installed. Time to hit the strip.
>>Join the conversation about this modified RS3 right here in the Audi World Forum!
Record Pace
When Malaka rolled their RS 3 out, APR held the record for fastest stock-block Audi with 9.831 seconds at 144 mph, so besting that result became the brothers' goal. Given Malaka's lack of experience drag racing and their shallower-than-APR pockets, Malaka's initial 10.3 at 138 mph outing wasn't half bad. With tuning help from IROZ and Custom Code, and a fair amount of sweat equity, George soon managed a searing 9.822 seconds at 145.85 mph, and a 168.54 mph standing half mile—both new records.
>>Join the conversation about this modified RS3 right here in the Audi World Forum!
Nothing to See Here
A look at the underhood goodies reveals a surprising civilized sight, monopolized by the stock engine cover, though an Integrated Engineering carbon fiber intake plumbing is a scene stealer.
>>Join the conversation about this modified RS3 right here in the Audi World Forum!
Where the Magic Happens
Beneath the factory plastic and carbon dwells IROZ's IMS850 Xona rotor turbo, as well as that company's anaconda-like four-inch downpipe, intercooler, and tubular manifold. ECM programming is by Custom Code and a system from Silly Rabbit provides enough fuel to feed the 708hp, 516 lb-ft of torque, engine satiated.
>>Join the conversation about this modified RS3 right here in the Audi World Forum!
More Magic
Power alone does not a drag racer make, and Malaka's RS 3 benefits from experimental rear springs provided by MMS Sport Suspension. The exterior has been kept surprisingly subtle—there's no wing in sight—though the sedan does wear a set of DR2 drag radials from Hoosier mounted on 18x9.5-inch TSW Interlagos wheels.
>>Join the conversation about this modified RS3 right here in the Audi World Forum!
Adding Lightness
Anyone coming upon a silver Audi that wants to race, especially in situations where the Hoosiers have been replaced with less tell-tale tires, best look inside the sedan for missing rear and passenger seats, and a lightweight Kirkey driver's seat, as signs that they might want to reconsider.
Has the need for velocity abated? "I would like to get back to Shift Sector this fall to break/reset my own record and break 175 MPH in the standing half mile. I'm toying with the idea of working with Iroz Motorsports to build the motor and trans to go for the first 8-second RS 3 [record] or perhaps trying to break 200 MPH in the half mile," George mused. We hope he makes it. When one goes faster we all get stronger.
>>Join the conversation about this modified RS3 right here in the Audi World Forum!
For help with servicing your Audi, check out the how to section of AudiWorld.com