U.S. Market 2022 Audi RS3 to get 401 Horsepower

It’s not uncommon for U.S. market cars to make a bit more power the Euro-market cars at the moment. Sometimes it’s quite a bit more power, sometimes it’s only a little. However, due to stricter European exhaust emissions regulations, performance cars across the pond can now make fewer horses. Such is the case with the 2022 Audi RS3, which makes 394 horsepower (400 PS) in Europe but makes 401 horsepower here in the ‘States.

Obviously, that difference is miniscule and will never be noticed by a single owner, on either side of the Atlantic. Plus, according to our maths, both cars have 400 horsepower. Still, there is a difference and it’s worth noting why the difference exists.

What’s also worth noting is the fact that the new Audi RS3’s engine makes virtually no additional power than the current car’s. The current RS3 uses the same 2.5 liter turbo-five but makes 394 horses on the nose, here in America. So for the American market, the new RS3 only makes seven extra horsepower than before. Not exactly a massive step forward is it?

Of course, the new RS3 makes up for that by also adding something even better than power — handling. The new RS Torque Splitter rear differential allows the RS3 to send as much power as the car’s brain thinks is necessary to either of the rear wheels. In theory, it can even send all of the engine’s power to just a single rear wheel. I don’t know if the car’s brain will ever do that for any reason — maybe in its new drift mode — but it can mechanically do it. That makes the new RS3 the first ever RS3 to be rear-biased and it’s wonderful. A bit too late, though, considering Audis will be going electric in the next few years.

Also, despite only have a handful of ponies more than the outgoing car, the new Audi RS3 is said to be faster. Audi claims a 3.8 second 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time, which is a tenth quicker than the claimed time of the current car. That’s not that much faster but I suspect it will actually be a few tenths quicker in the real world, thanks to improved grip, engine management, and traction control. Either way, the new Audi RS3 makes 401 horsepower in the U.S. market, which means we get the most powerful one, even if it’s only by a bit.