Audi RS3, record lap at Nurburgring

Record lap at the Nurburgring before even arriving at the dealership for the new Audi RS3. Covered by light camouflage and tested in sedan form, the restyling of the current generation Audi RS3 stopped the stopwatch at a time of 7'33"123 to complete a lap around the legendary Nordschleife circuit. A time that secured the RS3 restyling the title of fastest "compact saloon" at the Nurburgring, improving the lap record by more than five seconds, thanks also to the use of semi-slick Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres and carboceramic brakes.

Expected in Italian dealerships during the fourth quarter of this year, the Audi RS3 continues to be powered by the five-cylinder engine with 400 horsepower and 500 Nm of maximum torque. As explained by driver and test driver Frank Stippler, 'the car enters bends with extraordinary ease, on the strength of an unprecedented traction control set-up that acts through targeted interventions on the front wheels, and the Torque Splitter system, which distributes torque between the rear wheels actively and in a totally variable manner, guaranteeing oversteer behaviour and refined handling like never before for quattro all-wheel drive. In this way, understeer is almost absent and it is possible to approach the exit of a bend by accelerating well in advance.

The improvement on the road starts with the integration, through a single control unit, of inputs from quattro all-wheel drive, selective management of torque on individual wheels, an intelligent software function linked to the workings of stability control (Esc) that minimises braking of the wheels inside the trajectory allowing thrust to be transferred to the wheels with the best grip, the action of the aforementioned Torque Splitter and the adaptive DCC (Dynamic Chassis Control) suspension. The latter features an electro-hydraulic valve that varies the flow of oil in the shock absorber struts according to the car's parameters measured by multiple sensors, road surface conditions, driving style and the programme activated via the Audi Drive Select driving dynamics control.