Audi RS3 sedan caught undisguised

Fans of the S3 sedan can rejoice – a pumped Audi RS3 sedan looks set to join it and we have the US to thank.

Undisguised photos of an RS3 sedan show not only a four-door version of the RS3 hatchback, but also a front-end facelift for the most affordable RennSport model. The headlights in particular gain a ‘C’ shape that wraps into a revised bumper profile with new air intakes.

The vehicle was apparently shown at a dealer event called Audi Summit for Audi of America and these photos were first leaked on an Instagram account of a person at the event, then picked up by website WorldCarFans.

It is unclear whether the vehicle will be shown at the Geneva motor show in early March, where Audi is expected to reveal its Q2 small SUV. More likely the RS3 sedan will debut somewhere in the country it was born for – the US of A.

Americans don’t buy hatchbacks, but they do love sedans. The A3 Sportback doesn’t even appear in Audi’s Stateside catalogue, while the RS range is limited to the RS7 Sportback that is a kind-of-sedan.

The RS3 sedan is expected to use the 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbocharged engine from the RS3 Sportback, but there are two reasons it could get more than the current 270kW and 465NM: it appears to be holding the torch for a range facelift; and the Mercedes-AMG CLA45 makes 280kW/475Nm.

The RS3 Sportback claims 0-100km/h in 4.3 seconds, but we at MOTOR have already recorded 3.95sec. How low can a booted RS3 go when handed extra berries then given the boot? We await further details…