The Audi RSQ3 Sportback: A Masterpiece of Engineering and Design

It's not far-fetched to say that the Audi RSQ3 Sportback (along with the standard RSQ3, TT RS, and, of course, RS3) is the most "RS" of all Audis. It is true that all this madness began with that legendary 1994 Audi RS2 Avant developed in collaboration with Porsche and that, therefore, the current RS4 Avant is the most direct heir to the RS saga.

You can also defend that the RS6 Performance, with its 630 CV, is today the most iconic representative of the "hypertrophied" Audi. But there is something that our protagonist today can boast of and the others cannot: under his hood there is an engine specifically designed "almost" from scratch by Audi Sport.

The EA855 Evo engine in the Audi RSQ3 Sportback

Multiple winners of the Engine of the Year award in the competitive 2.0 to 2.5-liter class, the legendary 2.5-liter five-cylinder petrol engine in the Audi RSQ3 Sportback is for the first time made of aluminum instead of cast iron reinforced with vermicular graphite, as was the case in the previous RS.

Most purists will defend that an aluminum block can never be as resistant as an iron one, and even more so if we are talking about iron "reinforced" with graphite "worms", as in this case. But the truth is that at Audi Sport they did numbers and saw that with an aluminum centrifugal casting, it was possible to build a block that was more than robust enough to withstand 400 CV at between 5,850 and 7,000 rpm, as well as 480 Nm at between 1,950 and 5,850 turns that the EA855 Evo develops, as standard; the addition 'Evo', by the way, differentiates this "aluminized" motor from the iron one.

Beyond the material from which the block is made up, and thanks to which 26 kilos are saved, the engine of the Audi RSQ3 Sportback is a masterpiece of engineering and an ode to sportiness.

It is a masterpiece for its variable distribution system in phase and lift with sodium-cooled exhaust valves, its turbocharger that blows at 2.36 bars and has a cast-steel casing to resist temperatures of 1,000 ºC, its intake manifold with conduits of variable length switchable by means of pneumatic valves, its direct and indirect injection system or its cooling system with two active pumps that help the engine to warm up more quickly.

As for the ode to sportsmanship, just listen to the sound of its exhaust, which, in addition to allowing you to choose between two different intensities, has an unmistakable timbre thanks to the unique cadence of its five cylinders, which generates unique, more “rude” harmonics. then those of the tetra cylindrical and the hex cylinder.

Why five cylinders? Today it may make little sense technically speaking, and even in 2009, when its first iteration was presented, it was not necessary to "add a cylinder" to a 2.0-liter block to have an extra displacement that would allow the removal of the 310-340. CV featuring the first EA855.

Actually, the main justification for its 5L architecture is purely historical. And it is that the engine of the Audi RSQ3 Sportback pays homage to the saga of inline five-cylinder engines that powered the Audi models in the 80s, and especially to the mythical 034 engine with turbo and 20-valve cylinder head that offered up to 306 hp in the Audi Sport Quattro in a distant 1984.

This is the Audi RSQ3 Sportback

Focusing on the Audi RSQ3 Sportback, it was launched in 2019 and marked the premiere of both the new Sportback silhouette of the A3/Q3 family and the current generation of RS versions of the Audi range.

The approach of the Audi RSQ3 Sportback is well known: MQB platform, transversal engine, permanent front-wheel drive, progressive connection of the rear axle, seven-speed alternating clutch automatic transmission, shorter and firmer springs, oversized brakes (Ø375 mm in front and Ø310 mm behind) and a custom interior.

In practice, all this translates into a vehicle with impressive dynamism that does not hide its cards at any time. Neither its aesthetic approach leaves room for doubt nor its gestures from the moment we start it and its engine begins to growl with its peculiar rough accent at the high idle speed with which it wakes up.

In those first maneuvers, with a cold engine, the Audi RSQ3 Sportback is even abrupt and can give the impression that there is something that has not been properly tuned, as in a classic high-performance engine; nothing further. The EA855 Evo soon reaches its service temperature and any hint of roughness disappears.

Our unit connects the driver's hands to the wheels through a steering wheel covered in Dinamica (synthetic suede made from recycled polyester) while a carbon fiber-backed bucket hugs his body firmly but without discomfort.

The interior already shows the passing of the years, the central screen is not aligned with that of the instrument panel, the tank level indicators and the coolant temperature are not integrated into the digital instrumentation, and the air conditioning controls have their corresponding module (something that is on the verge of extinction, unfortunately) and the gear selector occupies a privileged position when, today, it is only necessary to maneuver.

So goes the Audi RSQ3 Sportback

For better or for worse, all this is in the background as soon as we start to move. The truth is that the Audi RSQ3 Sportback is not surprising for its performance as much as for its sensations.

I don't want to say that it doesn't run, that of course it runs, but that it impresses more for its sound, for the changes in support, for how it turns flat, for the rage with which it climbs in revs, for the confidence transmitted by easy-to-use brakes. dosed and difficult to fatigue... something that has its merit in a car of almost 1.8 tons in running order.

We also like his second personality. The Audi RSQ3 is a practical car on a day-to-day basis if we ignore consumption, which rarely drops below 10 liters per 100 km. There are very usable rear seats, a large trunk, with a double bottom but without a spare wheel (not even as an option), dimensions that allow us to move without problems in urban traffic (4.50 meters long), and suspensions that They manage not to punish us excessively if we spend a long day behind the wheel.

Obviously, all this must be paid for. The Audi RSQ3 Sportback costs 82,550 euros, with separate options. Our unit, with paint options (glacier white), wheels (21''), headlights (LED matrix), bodywork (black profiles), seats, interior trim, hands-free access, improved Sonos audio equipment, 360º cameras, and some more detail is close to 95,000 euros.

All this sounds like a lot for a compact, but it's not so much if we open the hood and take a last look at the EA855, an engine whose development has to be amortized between very few units compared to the EA888 2.0 four-cylinder.

After all, the Audi pentacylindrical is a very expensive piece of engineering that is only mounted on this Audi RSQ3 Sportback and the rest of the silhouettes of the RSQ3/RS3/TT, as well as on the KTM X-Bow GTX and, of course, Of course, the CupraFormentor. And at the rate we're going, it's very likely that this is one of the last (if not "the" last) iterations of this mechanical gem.