Audi has unveiled the second generation of its TCR racer, the RS3 LMS. With this pretty extreme looking and heavily refurbished A3 Limousine it hopes to throw high in international touring car championships.
An LMS version for touring car championships has already been developed of the previous generation of the Audi A3. Now Ingolstadt is continuing that with such a version of the current A3. Again, the well-developed Audi bears the name RS3, but don’t let that fool you: this car has little to do with the production RS3. For example, there is no five-cylinder in this racer; although Audi only specifies the maximum power of 340 hp, it is almost certain that that power comes from a solidly raised 2.0 TFSI, just like the previous RS3. Previously, in the obviously quite empty Audi, that was good for a 0-100 km / h acceleration that took only 4.5 seconds. Another difference with the regular RS3 is that the LMS does not have four-wheel drive but front-wheel drive.
As usual for TCR cars, the body has been greatly widened, there are numerous extra large air intakes and aerodynamic cleverness and there is a huge spoiler on the back. Of course, the suspension, steering and brakes will also be of a different order than you can expect in street-legal cars. For Audi, it is to be hoped that it all goes well with the various teams that participate in TCR championships. The shoes of the previous RS3 LMS cannot simply be filled, Audi also realizes. It just goes to show that that car drove 1,051 races worldwide in four years, resulting in 279 wins and 16 driver titles.