- Audi will end production of the RS3 for Europe in mid-2027.
- This high-performance compact car will continue beyond the continent.
- The RS3 Sedan and RS3 Sportback were the last Audi models with an inline-five.
Mercedes recently said goodbye to its V12 engine in Europe, and now rival Audi is also preparing to say goodbye to the iconic powertrain. Ingolstadt will end inline-five production for the European market in mid-2027. However, like the twelve-cylinder engines from Stuttgart, five-cylinder plants will continue outside the continent.
In a statement to Motor1A3 model series spokesperson Julia Winkler confirmed the RS3 won’t be going away entirely. Although the luxury brand has had to stop production of the 2.5 TFSI in Europe due to the impending Euro 7 emissions regulations, Audi will keep the high-performance compact car for sale in non-European markets after the middle of next year.
The RS3 may be on the verge of extinction, but European buyers still have a decent chance of buying the car before it’s completely gone. Although technically possible, Audi will not update its engines to comply with stricter laws because the return on investment will not justify the effort. The RS3 hatchback and sedan are the last cars to use this engine after the RS Q3, RS Q3 Sportback, TT RS Coupe and TT RS Roadster were discontinued several years ago.
Photo by: Audi
The company’s five-cylinder lineage dates back half a century to the 1976 Audi 100. While it’s sad to see it go, it’s the cake that crumbles under ever-stricter European regulations. Another recent casualty in the luxury segment that comes to mind is BMW’s V8 engine, as the 4.4-liter twin-turbo engine had to be dropped in the M5 and XM to comply with Euro 7.
The mainstream segment is not immune to stricter regulations either. Mazda phased out the 2.0-liter engine from the Miata several years ago, while Honda is phasing out the Civic Type R “in accordance with European legislation.” The situation will worsen with Euro 7 approaching and the EU’s mandate for motor vehicle emissions to fall by 90 percent by 2035 compared to 2021 levels.
I bemoaned the gradual disappearance of fun cars in an opinion piece last year, and noted that other Euro regulations had forced some automakers to discontinue them. For example, the Porsche Cayman and Boxster are leaving the continent in mid-2024 after failing to comply with new cybersecurity regulations. In the mainstream segment, the Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ experienced a similar fate.
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Source: Audi
Motorcycle Pickup1: The inline-five will be sorely missed, but seeing as the glass is half full, it hasn’t gone away. Even after retiring from the European market in mid-2027, Audi will continue to build the RS3 in Győr, Hungary, for North America and other regions with looser emissions regulations.
We hope the RS3 will last until the end of the current A3 generation. But once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
