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Audi RS Q3 gets snarlier, hits 62 mph in 4.8 seconds [w/video]

Well, that was quick. A mere 20 months after its debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, Audi has issued a fairly significant update to its RS Q3 crossover. A light exterior refresh - the most noticeable change is that the grille surround and headlights are now joined - belies more significant changes under the compact crossover's hood.
Power from the 2.5-liter, turbocharged five-cylinder has been boosted nicely from 310 horsepower to 340, while torque has jumped from 309 pound-feet to 332 lb-ft. The result of this extra thrust is that the tiny CUV can now scamper to 62 miles per hour in a seriously quick 4.8 seconds, rather than the original RS Q3's 5.5-second sprint. A new fifth-generation multi-plate clutch is fitted to the seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch transmission, which Audi claims will now deliver even quicker shifts.
Lighter brake rotors with ridiculous eight-piston calipers in the front provide what we imagine is a lot of stopping power, while Audi continues to offer an optional adaptive damper system. 19-inch wheels are standard while 20s are optional.

Get lost in Evo's sublime 2013 Car of the Year testing

Every year Evo stages its Car of the Year test, bringing the best performance cars in the world to one location for an epic shootout. This year the magazine pitted eight CotY finalists against each other on Route Napoleon in Southern France - Evo claims it's the "best road in the world" - and then proceeded to nitpick the smallest of faults on each car until the winner could be named. You see, this year's lineup of machines was just so good that only one car obviously wasn't CotY material from the get-go. Can you guess which one judging from the list below?
- Aston Martin V12 Vantage S
- Audi R8 V10 Plus

The hot hatch without a hatch | 2017 Audi S3 First Drive

The 2017 Audi S3 is a car without equal. That might end up on a billboard, but it's actually meant quite literally, as in the S3 has no direct competitor. Other compact luxury sedans, of which there are few, can't match its performance. The BMW 2 Series has two doors, plus it's rear-drive. The bonkers Mercedes-AMG CLA45 is on another power and price planet altogether. The mechanically related VW Golf R isn't a luxury car and has a hatch instead of a trunk. And so the S3 exists as an oddity. But it's a fun oddity, and a well-made one too. For 2017, it receives a number of noteworthy changes to keep it fresh and technologically relevant. Most also apply to the 2017 Audi A3, the car on which it's based, which itself gets a new 2.0-liter turbo four base engine in place of the old 1.8-liter. Paired with front-wheel drive and essentially a variation of the Quattro model's carry-over 2.0-liter, it produces 186 horsepower (up from 170) and returns 29 mpg combined (up from 27). That revamped A3 wasn't on hand for the press drive in Durham, North Carolina, so we were not-at-all stuck with the 2017 S3. Its own 2.0-liter turbo four is unchanged, still pumping out 292 hp and 280 pound-feet of torque through a six-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission. Audi says it'll hit 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, which is a full second quicker than the 220-hp A3 Quattro as well as about a half-second quicker than the Audi A4 Quattro. That bonkers CLA45 is around the four-second mark. Indeed, having so much power in such a small sedan is a novel and grin-inducing experience. The throttle response is sharp enough in standard mode, but tap the dash-mounted Audi Drive Select toggle to choose Dynamic, and it comes even more alive, eagerly shooting the S3 forward with the merest hint of a toe wiggle. The DSG is also quite happy to downshift when called upon, either by said toe or by itself when under braking. Blipping down two gears when heading into a corner is commonplace here, as are the sharp little barks that emanate from the S3's quad exhaust tips. And then there's the S3's Quattro all-wheel drive, which has been updated for 2017 with the same performance-oriented system found in the TT and TTS. Although its front/rear torque split is constantly changing based on current traction conditions, it nevertheless skews towards a rear torque bias to the point that, when in Dynamic mode, it won't reduce power in oversteer situations.