We love Audi’s RS 3 sedan, with its unassuming looks slyly hiding a badass 400 horsepower engine. If you’re not in the market for a new sedan, but might be persuaded by a track-ready racer, however, you might want to check out the Audi RS 3 LMS instead, which looks a whole lot like the erstwhile humble sedan’s supervillain brother.
Designed for the TCR FIA-spec racing series, the vehicle gets a wider profile than its road-going counterpart, a huge front splitter, and a hunkered down posture for unquestionably more aggressive style. It’s covered in the outfit’s signature red-and-black livery, making for one absolutely badass-looking ride.
To comply with TCR series rules, the Audi RS 3 LMS trades in the sedan’s five-cylinder engine for a 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder powerplant that puts out 330 horsepower. That’s good enough to give it a 0 to 60 of 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 149 mph, which, when combined with the Quattro all-wheel drive system and race-spec parts, should make for a capable competition racer. Since this is for racing, it gets a roll cage, bucket seat with full harness and nets, and an escape hatch in the roof.
Inside, the car is mostly bare metal and plastic, ditching much of the fanfare to save it a whole lot of weight. Other features include a center exit exhaust pipe and, of course, a giant rear wing.
More affordable than most race car options (not as affordable as a race-spec Mazda MX-5 unfortunately), the Audi RS 3 LMS is priced at €99,000.
