The new Audi RS3 is... well, we can't really be sure. We drove it very briefly on a stretch of icy Canadian blacktop, muting its abilities and limiting our conclusions to, ‘nice engine, bub'.
But its bloodline is rather interesting, ranging from the very first RS2 to the Labrador-killing RS6 Avant. Yes, a 5.2-litre twin-turbo V10 with 572bhp and a boot. Put stuff in said boot and liquidise it.
So, to champion that most hackneyed of phrases, ‘you can't know where you're going, until you know how to use a TomTom'. No, wait...
Audi RS2
Based on the 80 Avant, this was the first ‘RS' Audi, developed in collaboration with Porsche in 1994.
Housed a turbocharged 2.2-litre five-pot producing 315bhp and was built for just two years until 1996
Audi RS4 Avant
Audi brought production of the RS models ‘in-house' from 2000 onwards; in-house referring to quattro GmbH, which took charge of this next instalment, the RS4 estate.
A 2.7-litre twin-turbo V6 rode up front, vomiting 380bhp to the tarmac via the medium of four-wheel drive.
Audi RS4 saloon
In 2005, Audi really nailed a masterpiece. The staid, nose-heavy turbo'd RS's of past were swept aside by the arrival of the naturally aspirated RS4. A 4.2-litre high-revving V8 with 420bhp was slotted in, while the quattro with its (then) new centre differential gave a rearward bias.
Still not as slidey as an M3, the RS4 came in three body styles - saloon, cab and estate.
Audi RS4 Cabriolet
Audi RS4 Avant
Audi RS5
Unveiled at the Geneva motor show in 2010, the RS5 houses a 4.2-litre high-revving V8 with 444bhp, 317lb ft and a 0-62mph time of 4.6 seconds. As we found out when we drove it last year, the power simply explodes; no wheelspin, just torque and effortless pace.
Mind you, for all this power, pace and comfort, we thought it could have offered up more of a challenge...
Audi RS6
The first of the RS6s waved a Teutonic hello in 2002, both in saloon and estate flavour. A twin-turbo'd 4.2-litre V8 with 450bhp did the business up front, while Dynamic Ride Control - a mechanical device to ‘offset pitch and yaw' - made itself noticed.
The second-gen RS6 landed in 2008, complete with a 5.2-litre V10 engine, twin-turbochargers and heart pills. We're lying about the heart pills, before you write in to Points of View. The most powerful engine Audi has ever built, in an estate.
Audi RS6 saloon - 2002
Audi RS6 Avant - 2008
Audi RS6 saloon - 2008
Audi TT RS
2009 saw the death of the Audi TT as a hairdresser's car. After all, which salon-ista would ever buy a coupe with 340bhp?
That turbo'd five gave the TT a thorough dose of the classic quattro heritage, and you can even fry your follicles with the roadster version.
Audi TT RS Cabriolet
Audi R8
Ok, not exactly an ‘RS' Audi, but it's a bleedin' 5.2-litre V10 with 525bhp. Quattro GmbH's first supercar hits the nail on the head in its first shot with the V8, sinks it with the V10, above.
Audi RS3
And now to this, the 340bhp RS3 hot hatch. Five-pot power, quattro four-wheel drive and a 0-62mph time of 4.6 seconds. Verdict is still out on this one...
