2019 Litchfield Audi RS3 | UK Review
Thought the current RS3 was plenty brisk enough? Think again.
Resist the temptation to tick that box, then, and spend the money instead with Litchfield. Because if you do, your RS3 will no longer have a miserable 400hp, but a roaring and triumphant 507hp. The speed limiter will be flashed away entirely, too, as if it really matters.
Litchfield is the Gloucestershire-based tuning company that made its name modifying Nissan GT-Rs, but which now operates across the manufacturer spectrum. Its fully reversible stage two RS3 upgrade, which includes a remap and an uprated intercooler, liberates a massive 107hp from the turbocharged five-pot, ultimately giving the car more power than a five-year old Porsche 911 Turbo. Torque leaps up from 354lb ft to a thumping 480lb ft.
Despite producing 203hp/litre - the sort of specific output that only competition cars could achieve not so long ago - the tweaked engine is remarkably well mannered. In fact, at low speeds or on a light throttle you'd have no idea whatsoever it had been breathed upon; it feels just as refined and unflustered as the standard motor. But when you dig into the throttle the car is spectacularly quick. The engine starts to pull at 2,500rpm and as early as 3,000rpm it lights up, hauling really hard right up until the moment it crashes into the rev limiter at 7,000rpm. The standard RS3 is a very fast car, but this uprated version is in another league altogether.
There is a trace of turbo lag - just enough that you can count half a Mississippi in your head before the boost comes in - but that's to be expected. And with four-wheel drive and a rapid-fire twin-clutch 'box you can deploy all of that power anytime you want, even on a very cold, slippery road surface.
And yet, it isn't the car's newfound supercar pace that's really impressive, but the sheer affordability of the upgrade (£1,448 all in). Just imagine trying to extract 500hp out of a Subaru Impreza STi a decade ago. You'd be into uprated internals, a bigger turbo, a massively upgraded intercooler, a reinforced engine block, water injection and lord knows what else, and even then it'd be truculent and boosty and about as responsive as a sedated hippo.
Litchfield founder Iain Litchfield points to the new RS3's revised, all-aluminium engine and its larger turbo. 'It's one of the best engines we've ever modified,' he comments. 'It's really is exceptional. The OE stuff has come on so much in the last four or five years it's almost unrecognisable.'
He reckons manufacturers have had to way over specify their high performance engines in recent years because emissions regulations have become so stringent. It's the only way to make the necessary power and satisfy the suits with the clipboards at the same time. This particular RS3, for instance, runs a completely standard exhaust system, despite the vast power increase. Its catalytic converters are, in the finest Gloucestershire parlance, 'humungous', so there's really no need to upgrade them.
Of course, what means that for tuning companies like Litchfield - and ultimately for car owners like you and I - is that the latest breed of high performance motors have bundles of latent potential. All you have to do is uncork them with a remap, sling in a bigger intercooler if the temperatures are looking a tad spicy, and boom, you've got 25 per cent more power.
The latest RS3 is a huge improvement over the previous model in every other respect, too.
Yes, you'll need a BMW M2 if you really want to excite yourself, but whereas the old RS3 was frustrating, hard-riding and defiantly nose-led this new version is engaging, composed and much better balanced. You could squander £1,600 by ticking Audi's option box - but taking your RS3 to the guys in Tewkesbury and having them turn it into a proper Ingolstadt missile for less money feels a lot more imaginative.
Inspired? Search for an Audi RS3 here
SPECIFICATION - LITCHFIELD AUDI RS3
Engine: 2,480cc, five cyls, turbocharged
Transmission: 7-speed twin clutch, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 507@6,430rpm
Torque (lb ft): 484@4,070rpm
0-62mph: 3.5sec (estimated)
Top speed: 180mph (estimated)
Weight: 1,515kg (kerb)
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
Cost: £1,448 (Stage 2 package)
I assume you have actually driven the car and this isn't some sort of Oscars type shenanigans where you have guessed the appropriate response you would have to the car?
There aren't many Audi's that I really lust after but I do like the styling and the size of the 3 saloon. The fact you can get it up to 500bhp with relatively little outlay (assuming the asking price for the car in the first place doesn't offend) is certainly intriguing to say the least. I wonder if Litchfield have any suspension mods planned for the future?
Or is it pay to advertise? Tut tut.
And I suspect, why this article appeared very late at night.... no use publishing crap when everyone's awake, hey?
I suspect both.
What about the warranty? I guess that's flown out of the window? Best not mention that, then?
Slippery slope PH. Slippery slope.
To some, it can be a risky business chucking away the potential of having any faults fixed during a warranty period or throwing caution to the wind and paying for all repair work yourself. After the warranty, you're on your own anyway, but aren't they talking about an RS3 upgrade here on cars that are new or nearly new?
So do think about a brake update before adding this mod
With regards the warranty comments, they are perfectly valid given the article comments about extracting power per ltr like a competition engine. Longevity?
The dual clutch, other drivetrain components, the engine itself...wind up a (comparatively) small capacity engine like that and surely you are living on borrowed time with regards a big repair bill.
To be fair, things are probably different now as well. Like the article, I am from an era when extracting 500-600bhp from a subaru/mitsu/etc. mean that you were effectively driving a grenade. Owners I knew with big power Evos used to spend as much time and money upgrading other things and replacing broken parts, as they did driving the thing.
The dual clutch, other drivetrain components, the engine itself...wind up a (comparatively) small capacity engine like that and surely you are living on borrowed time with regards a big repair bill.
I wasn't just thinking of the bits attached to the engine, drive-train or brakes when you throw your warranty out of the door for 100 horses. What happens when you invalidate the warranty through the modification and suddenly a huge electrical gremlin raises it head like say your windows or air-conditioning don't work, or the ABS systems goes haywire? What will your friendly Audi Service Manager do for you then?
I would imagine if you are spending circa £45k on an already fast car, with the option of releasing it's ultimate potential top speed via the manufacturer, you'd surely be thinking seriously about these potential issues even if the modified engine was bullet-proof.
I'm still not sure where you are going to do 172mph in the UK anyway. How fast/how much horsepower is sufficient, given our roads and traffic these days?
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff