Every Audi has four rings up front on the grille, but only the best of them have five cylinders lined up behind them. Since the World-Rally-Championship-dominating days of Walter Röhrl and Michèle Mouton, the best fast Audis have come with the characteristic snarl of a turbocharged inline-five engine. But those days are at an end, and the official word is that Canada is going to miss out on the last Audi to carry this spirit: the 2024 RS 3.
But that official word was handed down two years ago, and there’s a recent reason to have some hope. The new RS 3 is already available in the U.S., and it would thus take a lot less effort to make it compliant with Canada’s transport regulations than if it were some obscure European model. Furthermore, snowbound Canada is basically fast-Audi paradise. The brand has long done well by offering performance for all weathers.
With supply-chain woes affecting allocation, Audi Canada chose for various reasons to leave the RS 3 out in the cold. The smallest offering in the RS range, now that the two-door TT has been discontinued, the RS 3 was simply too niche to bother with, despite the clamouring of fans.
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2023 Audi Q3
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2023 Audi A3
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2023 Audi A4
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2023 Audi A4 allroad
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However, some sharp eyes over at Motor Illustrated spotted an online clue that Audi might be getting ready to change its mind. Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan’s) website briefly displayed the fuel consumption figures for the 2024 RS3 – 10.4 L/100 km, if you’re interested – though those figures soon disappeared from the site.
A worthy rival to BMW’s M2, the 401-hp RS3 is fast, agile, and a year-round contender. Audi would easily be able to sell every one it brings into Canada, if it chooses to do so. However, it has previously stated that there is a technical issue with selling the five-cylinder engine in Canada, perhaps due to emissions profile or similar.
So, either the NRCan folks accidentally published information on the old model; or they leaked out a little info ahead of an official return for the RS 3 to the Canadian market. We hope it’s the latter. The best fast Audis deserve a properly snowy playground.
Keyword: Is the Audi RS 3 finally coming back to Canada?