In
the last episode of the Fifth Gear, (Season 20 Episode 2) Tiff Needell
and the ex-British Rally Champion Mark Higgins have put the Audi RS3 and
the new BMW 1M on the race track.
The Audi RS3 is powered by a 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine producing 340 horsepower and 332 ft lbs of torque. Power is transferred to the ground by all four-wheels using Audi’s Quattro system and a 7-speed S-tronic direct-shift transmission.
There’s no programmed torque vectoring.
Compared with your garden-variety A3, the RS is lower and has a wider front track, and its front tires huddle under specially flared fenders fashioned from beautifully finished carbon fiber.
The RS3 requires 4.6 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) and is limited to a top speed of 155 mph (250 km/h). It starts at £39,930 (OTR).
On the same time, the BMW 1M has a 3.0-litre straight-six engine that produces the exact amount of power like RS3 – 340hp. The difference ( one of many ) is that the 1M is a rear wheel drive car. At 335 horsepower, the twin-turbo six is way out of the M3’s 414-hp league, but makes up the difference with stacks of torque from 1,500 rpm to 4,500 rpm, peaking at 332 lb/ft — 37 lb/ft more than the M3.
The car is electronically limited to 155 mph (250 km/h) top speed. There is an M Drive button that activates a quicker throttle response program.
Anyway enough with the techy data … let’s what these cars are capable of …
