Audi has unveiled the RS3 Competition Limited in Sportback hatchback and Sedan forms, as a celebration of the manufacturer’s five-cylinder engine configuration that turns 50 years old this year.
While the star attraction of the 750-unit, limited run variant is ostensibly the 2.5 litre, turbocharged five-cylinder engine, outputs of the powerplant are actually unchanged from the RS3 facelift that emerged in August 2024, where it produces 400 PS and 500 Nm as it does in the RS3 Competition Limited; similarly, 0-100 km/h is attained in 3.8 seconds, and top speed is 290 km/h.
Included in the RS3 Competition Limited hardware is the RS sport exhaust system with fully variable flap control, while reduced insulation around the firewall enables more engine sound to directly reach the car’s occupants.
In becoming the Competition Limited edition, this iteration of the RS3 has received handling upgrades, with the new chassis components comprised of a coilover suspension setup with a stiffer rear anti-roll bar, stiffer rear springs, and twin-tube dampers all around.
Here, the front damper units with external reservoirs aimed at providing better cooling for more consistent damping under prolonged high-load use, while the rear damper units have larger-diameter damper tubes with thicker piston rods compared to those of the regular RS3 for improved rigidity.
Doing away with adaptive suspension, the RS3 Competition Limited gets dampers which are manually adjustable for high-and low-speed compression damping, and rebound damping. Here, high-speed compression is adjustable in 15 steps, low-speed compression in 12 steps, and rebound in 16 steps. A setup manual as well as the required tools are included in the RS3 Competition Limited.
Wheels are 19-inch ten-spoke alloys in a Neodymium gold matte finish for this Competition Limited edition, while brakes are ceramic units. For the exterior, matte carbon-fibre is used on the mirror covers, side skirts and rear spoiler as well as the upper trim above the rear diffuser, while partial matte application also features on the rear side windows.
The front of the RS3 Competition Limited gets added aero elements to reduce lift at speed, and specific to the Sportback bodystyle is a roof spoiler.
To emphasise the presence of the five-cylinder powerplant, the headlamps on the RS3 Competition Limited are darkened matrix LED units with segments that light up in a 1-2-4-5-3 pattern. Three exterior colours are offered for the RS Competition Limited for both Sportback and Sedan bodystyles, and these are Daytona Grey, Glacier White matter and Malachite Green.
Inside, the RS3 Competition Limited gets RS bucket seats in front, upholstered in black leather with gold-coloured Dinamica microfibre with white contrast stitching. The steering wheel is also trimmed in Dinamica, also with white contrast stitching and 12 o’clock centre position marker. The digital instrument display in the RS3 Competition Limited gets a white background, harking back to the RS2 Avant of 1994, says Audi.
In Germany, the Audi RS3 Competition Limited starts from 108,365 euros (RM492,876) for the Sportback, and from 110,005 euros (RM500,335) for the Sedan. Customer deliveries of both bodystyles of the RS3 Competition Limited begin in the middle of this year, says Audi.
2026 Audi RS3 Competition Limited Sportback
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- Malachite green, indoor static photo, exterior, three-quarter front view
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- RS 3 Sportback competition limited (Malachite green) and RS 3 Sedan competition limited (Daytona gray pearl effect), indoor static photo, exterior, detailed view of coilover suspension
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- Indoor static photo, interior
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- In the interior, the special edition, which is limited to 750 units, shows its exclusivity thanks to the colour combination of Neodymium gold, Ginger white and black.
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- The torque splitter enables fully variable torque distribution between the rear wheels. It uses one electronically controlled multi-plate clutch on each drive shaft.
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- When turning in, the Torque Splitter increases torque delivered to the outer rear wheel with the higher wheel load. At the same time, the wheels on the inside of the curve are braked slightly. This ensures outstanding cornering behaviour.
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- When turning in, the Torque Splitter increases torque delivered to the outer rear wheel with the higher wheel load. At the same time, the wheels on the inside of the curve are braked slightly. This ensures outstanding cornering behaviour.
-
- When turning in, the Torque Splitter increases torque delivered to the outer rear wheel with the higher wheel load. At the same time, the wheels on the inside of the curve are braked slightly. This ensures outstanding cornering behaviour.
-
- Three-way adjustable shock absorbers offer high flexibility and a wide spread in driving characteristics. High-speed and low-speed compression can be changed separately and rebound can be adjusted too.
-
- High flexibility and a wide spread in driving characteristics are offered by three-way adjustable shock absorbers: High-speed and low-speed compression can be changed separately and rebound can be adjusted too.
-
- At the rear, larger diameter dampers with thicker rods ensure stable mounting and rigidity compared to the series model.
-
- The twin-tube shock absorbers at the front axle have external reservoirs. Their larger volume contributes to better cooling of the damper hydraulics. This keeps the damping performance constant, even under high loads.
-
- The inline five-cylinder engine in the RS 3 competition limited outputs 294 kW (400 PS) and 500 Nm from 2.5 liters of displacement. This ensures the model to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 290 km/h.
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- Standard equipment: the ceramic brake with 380 mm discs and red calipers
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- Thanks to the reduced firewall insulation, the characteristic sound of the five-cylinder engine can be experienced even more clearly. With its fully variable flap control, the standard RS sport exhaust system broadens the sound characteristics.
-
- The coilover suspension with stiffer rear axle stabilizer improves handling and increases driving stability.
-
- The coilover suspension was specially developed and tuned for the RS 3 competition limited.
-
- The RS 3 competition limited features a coilover suspension including a new rear stabilizer. In combination with the torque splitter and the ceramic brakes, the special edition offers distinctly sporty handling.
-
- The RS 3 competition limited is equipped with coilover suspension, ceramic brakes and RS sport exhaust system as standard. Powered by the five-cylinder engine, the special edition offers outstanding performance.
-
- The RS 3 competition limited is equipped with coilover suspension, ceramic brakes and RS sport exhaust system as standard. Powered by the five-cylinder engine, the special edition offers outstanding performance.
2026 Audi RS3 Competition Limited Sedan
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- Daytona gray pearl effect, indoor static photo, exterior, three-quarter front view
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- Daytona gray pearl effect, indoor static photo, exterior, three-quarter rear view
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- Daytona gray pearl effect, indoor static photo, exterior, side view
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- Daytona gray pearl effect, indoor static photo, exterior, front view
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- Daytona gray pearl effect, indoor static photo, exterior, rear view
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- Daytona gray pearl effect, indoor static photo, exterior, three-quarter rear view
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- Daytona gray pearl effect, indoor static photo, exterior, three-quarter front view
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- Daytona gray pearl effect, indoor static photo, exterior, three-quarter front view
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- Daytona gray pearl effect, indoor static photo, exterior, detailed front view
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- Daytona gray pearl effect, dynamic photo, exterior, three-quarter rear view
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- Daytona gray pearl effect, dynamic photo, exterior, front view
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- Daytona gray pearl effect, dynamic photo, exterior, three-quarter front view
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- Daytona gray pearl effect, indoor static photo, exterior, detailed front view
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- Daytona gray pearl effect, indoor static photo, detailed trunk view
-
- Indoor static photo, interior
-
- Indoor static photo, interior
-
- Indoor static photo, interior
-
- In the interior, the special edition, which is limited to 750 units, shows its exclusivity thanks to the colour combination of Neodymium gold, Ginger white and black.
-
- The torque splitter enables fully variable torque distribution between the rear wheels. It uses one electronically controlled multi-plate clutch on each drive shaft.
-
- When turning in, the Torque Splitter increases torque delivered to the outer rear wheel with the higher wheel load. At the same time, the wheels on the inside of the curve are braked slightly. This ensures outstanding cornering behaviour.
-
- When turning in, the Torque Splitter increases torque delivered to the outer rear wheel with the higher wheel load. At the same time, the wheels on the inside of the curve are braked slightly. This ensures outstanding cornering behaviour.
-
- When turning in, the Torque Splitter increases torque delivered to the outer rear wheel with the higher wheel load. At the same time, the wheels on the inside of the curve are braked slightly. This ensures outstanding cornering behaviour.
-
- Three-way adjustable shock absorbers offer high flexibility and a wide spread in driving characteristics. High-speed and low-speed compression can be changed separately and rebound can be adjusted too.
-
- High flexibility and a wide spread in driving characteristics are offered by three-way adjustable shock absorbers: High-speed and low-speed compression can be changed separately and rebound can be adjusted too.
-
- At the rear, larger diameter dampers with thicker rods ensure stable mounting and rigidity compared to the series model.
-
- The twin-tube shock absorbers at the front axle have external reservoirs. Their larger volume contributes to better cooling of the damper hydraulics. This keeps the damping performance constant, even under high loads.
-
- The inline five-cylinder engine in the RS 3 competition limited outputs 294 kW (400 PS) and 500 Nm from 2.5 liters of displacement. This ensures the model to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 290 km/h.
-
- Standard equipment: the ceramic brake with 380 mm discs and red calipers
-
- Thanks to the reduced firewall insulation, the characteristic sound of the five-cylinder engine can be experienced even more clearly. With its fully variable flap control, the standard RS sport exhaust system broadens the sound characteristics.
-
- The coilover suspension with stiffer rear axle stabilizer improves handling and increases driving stability.
-
- The coilover suspension was specially developed and tuned for the RS 3 competition limited.
-
- The RS 3 competition limited features a coilover suspension including a new rear stabilizer. In combination with the torque splitter and the ceramic brakes, the special edition offers distinctly sporty handling.
-
- The RS 3 competition limited is equipped with coilover suspension, ceramic brakes and RS sport exhaust system as standard. Powered by the five-cylinder engine, the special edition offers outstanding performance.
-
- The RS 3 competition limited is equipped with coilover suspension, ceramic brakes and RS sport exhaust system as standard. Powered by the five-cylinder engine, the special edition offers outstanding performance.
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