in every way
The Audi RS3 Sportback set the cat among the compact sport pigeons... although not always in a positive sense. Apart from problems with the brakes and the hassle with tyre damage the professional press was unanimous in its praise for one component of the overall package, the 2.5 litre five-cylinder turbo which in standard trim produces 340 horsepower and 450 Nm of torque. The VW and Audi specialists at B&B Automobiltechnik however felt that more was possible. They offer a four-step power upgrade and correct the weaknesses of the series model.
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- B&B have fitted the Audi RS3 Sportback with high-performance four-piston or six-piston brake saddles.
Lots of power at a decent price
The first step of the performance enhancement is already noteworthy… the tuners re-program the motor management and slightly increase the turbo pressure in order to tickle out of the five-cylinder power plant 410 horsepower and 560 Nm of torque. This costs the owner 1,950 Euros. For just a thousand more B&B will modify the intake manifolds, the air ducts and the intercooler, increase the pressure by 0.25 bar in comparison with the series version and re-set the electronic fuel injection mapping. The result is 425 horsepower and 580 Nm of torque.
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- The fifty-fifty solution… fifty percent more horsepower, that makes 520, and almost fifty percent greater torque, now 680 Nm, over the values of the series model (340 horsepower and 450 Nm of torque).
Getting more expensive
Things become more costly when stage three of the upgrade program is ordered. The increase in output is not that great… to 450 horsepower and 600 Nm… but getting there requires an expenditure of 7,950 Euros. This covers a sports exhaust system for decreased exhaust gas back pressure and gas temperature and a new intercooler. Then finally there is the fifty-fifty solution… fifty percent more horsepower, that makes 520, and almost fifty percent greater torque, now 680 Nm, over the values of the series model. This requires the replacement of the original turbocharger unit with one made in-house, the installation of a racing exhaust system with metal catalytic converter, the addition of a high-pressure pump and a special sports clutch. With further modification to the air intake system the final price comes to a quite considerable 15,590 Euros.
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- For 398 Euros B&B will install sports springing lowering the body by around 20 millimetres. The also have coilovers on offer in either ‘Comfort’ or ‘Sport’ variants for 1,298 Euros.
Data sounding good
Anyone investing this kind of money is entitled to expect the performance of a super sports car. The B&B Audi RS3 Sportback does not disappoint, if the claims of the tuner are substantiated. They speak of a zero-to-a-hundred time of 3.5 seconds (just 12.5 seconds to hit two hundred) and a top speed of 310 kilometres an hour. This data means an improvement of 1.1 second and 60 kilometres an hour over the unmodified RS3. The performance resulting from the lesser enhancement steps in the B&B program will inevitably give slower times but in all instances the V-Max top speed limitation is de-activated.
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- B&B give the Audi RS3 Sportback light metal alloys in 19 or 20 inch format and suggest tyres by Continental.
The B&B finishing touch
To give the RS3 its finishing touch B&B turned their attention to the suspension and the brakes. For 398 Euros they’ll install sports springing lowering the body by around 20 millimetres. The also have coilovers on offer in either ‘Comfort’ or ‘Sport’ variants for 1,298 Euros. Light metal alloys in 19 or 20 inch format (from 2,998 Euros) can be paired with high-performance four-piston or six-piston brake saddles. Anyone opting to spend this 4,698 Euros will have no further call to complain about the stopping power of the series RS3.
