Fullscreen
What Was The Audi RS3 Thinking Before Challenging The Tesla Model 3 To A Drag Race?
The Tesla Model 3 Performance is one of the fastest cars, and the Audi RS3, for some reason, thought it could take it down
by Sidd Dhimaan, on LISTEN 03:28The Audi RS3 was recently updated and it is a fantastic proposition overall. Audi even gave it a little more torque this time around. But, it is still not in the leagues of EVs when it comes to straight-line races. The folks at Carwow pit the Audi RS3 against a Tesla Model 3 that was nothing more than a glorified squash. The Model 3 is in a league of its own, and in this race, it proved the same by obliterating the RS3.
How Much Power Do The Cars Make?
The Audi RS3 is powered by a 2.5-liter, five-cylinder turbocharged engine that makes 400 ponies and 369 pound-feet of torque.
The engine is mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. It also comes with an all-wheel-drive system and a rear differential to make this gripper and more chuck-able than before. It weighs 3,461 pounds.
The Tesla Model 3 Performance comes with a dual-motor setup that makes this an all-wheel-drive layout. The combined power output is 490 horses and 487 pound-feet of twist.
It takes just 3.1 seconds to 60 mph and has a top speed of 162 mph, which makes it one of the fastest EVs that you can buy today. Courtesy of the motors and the batteries, the Model 3 is heavier than the RS3. It weighs 4,079 pounds, over 600 pounds more than the German.
The Audi Is No Slouch, But It’s No Tesla Either
The RS3 isn’t a slow car by any means, but it doesn’t have the instantaneous torque of electric vehicles. It managed to stay beside the Model 3 when they kicked off the first race, but then the Model 3 just zoomed past it and created enough gap to give itself a convincing win. But, it wasn’t a thrashing either, because the Model 3 was just 0.3 seconds quicker to the finish line than the RS3, which took 12 seconds to complete the quarter-mile distance. There was no way the RS3 could beat it in a standing race, so they didn’t bother with another run.
The next round was a rolling race from 50 mph. The Audi RS3 was in Sports mode, locked in the third gear. The Model 3, as expected, had a great kickdown with all that torque available as soon as the A-pedal is floored. Until the half-mile mark, it stayed ahead, but soon after, it started conceding its lead to the RS3. The German eventually won the race at the mile mark.
They tried another rolling race, this time from around 40 mph, and the Audi locked in the second gear. The Model 3 again had a good kickdown and flew past the RS3. This time, the Model 3 had more of a range in the three-digit speeds to play with before it slowed down. This allowed it to get a narrow win over the fast-approaching RS3 by the nose.
The last round was the brake test from 100 mph. The Audi RS3 has better brakes and is lighter, which gave it an advantage. But, the Model 3 stopped in a much shorter distance to score yet another win.
Watch the fun video below and let us know in the comments section which of these two would you pick as your daily driver.
Source: CarWow
