New Audi S3 starts at £47k in UK
Fancy getting your hands on the most powerful S3 in 25 years? Let's hope you've been saving up...
We’ve driven the new Audi S3. But we can’t talk about it yet. What we can talk about is the asking price in the UK: the Black Edition (which is effectively the flagship trim for the rest of the A3 lineup) is £46,925 for the Sportback, and the Vorsprung (which is the flagship trim reserved exclusively for the S3) is £52,400. If you prefer the saloon model, it’ll be £47,490 and £52,965, respectively. Unlike previous years, there is no ‘entry-level’ version.
If £52k sounds like a lot of money for an Audi S3 that’s because it is. The RS3, which let’s not forget features a much more sophisticated and evocative engine, starts at £53,620 for a Sportback. If you want a saloon, it’s £54,620. But those derivatives will require some ticking on the equipment front: to put the Vorsprung into context, the top-spec RS3 starts at £60,870 for the Sportback and £61,870 for the saloon. So the S3 is expensive, but on insofar as the hot hatches around it are. The most affordable Mercedes-AMG A35 is £46,000. And let’s not forget the outgoing S3 was £44,720. For context, the lowest amount of money you can possibly spend on a facelifted A3 at launch is £32,035 for a 35 TFSI Sport with a 1.5-litre petrol engine.
So like virtually everything these days, you’ll be putting your hand deep in your pocket if you want one. At least in the case of the new S3 you can reassure yourself that you’re buying the most powerful version of the model yet made with 333hp. And, thanks to the introduction of the torque splitter on the rear axle, it has the potential to be the most entertaining version launched in 25 years as well. Although obviously we’re not in the position to confirm or deny that just yet.
Elsewhere the model comes with the usual party bag of standard features (more so, if you include the Black styling pack which includes 19-inch wheels in Anthracite Black) and you get the new diff and 15mm lower sports suspension by default. But, as ever, some of the most tempting items are reserved for the Vorsprung trim, not least the Matrix LED headlights, electrically adjustable sports seats, a panoramic roof and, most significantly, adaptive dampers, which do tend to be a thing worth having on UK roads. Either way, while the other A3 variants are open for ordering now, you’ll need to wait till May 15th to put your name down for the hot hatch. Expect to find out what it’s like to drive before then.
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