Now that those who were imprinted by Group B cars as children have reached their prime earning years, Audi has smartly returned the departed TT RS to us and deigned to send along the RS3. Equipped with 400-hp turbocharged five-cylinder engines, just like Michèle Mouton used to run?only less laggy, more efficient, and featuring the aid of modern traction and stability control, therefore perhaps less likely to hurl an enthusiastic motorist off the side of a mountain. And unlike the 302-hp Sport Quattro of the 1980s, the new MQB-based RS siblings won?t cost as much as a single-family home. At least, not any sort of single-family home you’d actually want to reside in.
The TT RS starts at $65,875, which is expensive when you consider that it shares its bones with your neighbor Herff?s Volkswagen Golf Alltrack, but the sum begins to sound reasonable when you note that it?s got one more cylinder than corporate sibling Porsche?s 718 Cayman S, makes 50 more horsepower, and costs $1475 less. For your money, Audi gives you 19-inch wheels, a leather/imitation suede multifunction steering wheel, nappa leather, and eight-way power sport seats. The RS also features LED headlights and the customary fixed rear spoiler. Options include 20-inch wheels, carbon-ceramic front disc brakes, Audi?s Black Optic package that darkens the brightwork, an interior with red diamond-pattern stitching and RS-emblazoned floor mats, a Bang & Olufsen sound system, the MMI Navigation Plus infota...