Late last year we had a confidential whisper come our way suggesting that Audi’s stonking 250kW RS3 might not be coming to Australia. True to our source we sat on the rumour, and unfortunately for Audi fans, the info appears to have been proved correct. Further reports have reached AUSmotive HQ of Audi dealers confirming to their customers that the RS3 will not be offered for sale in Australia.
Apparently an Australian Design Rule compliance issue is at least part of the reason for the decision. Details are a bit sketchy, and we will seek confirmation from Audi Australia, however it is understood that for the RS3 to be approved for the Australian market it would need to undergo a specific crash test which is not required in any other market aside from Japan.
We’ll report back after we have heard from Audi.
13 replies on “Audi RS3 unlikely to show its face in Australia”
this is sad news. i would have liked to have seen one on our roads.
i reckon they can’t bring them in at under 100k so it got canned. not enough margin, bro.
Yay for red tape. Proof of the stupidity of regional standards bodies in a global market.
I bet STI die hards are cheering.
Yup, my dealer is refunding my deposit.
@Cat РI think BMW Australia will be cheering more. I suspect this news will certainly ease any concerns they may have had over pricing the 1M Coup̩.
They should be able to undercut the TT RS without too much fuss I would expect.
[…] be headed to our shores, if information we’ve received proves correct. Our friends over at Ausmotive tipped us off this morning to the fact that ADR compliance may rule out Audi bringing its RS3 to […]
At that price its not really aimed at STi die hards is it? Shame though. Would of been a great little hatch
Received call from dealer consultant who took my deposit. I’m not calling back but holding on to the false hope that I will receive a new RS3….. 🙁
[…] looks like Audi will be giving BMW a free kick by not bringing in its comparable RS3, is BMW’s $100K price tage low enough to allow them to […]
Yep, got my deposit refunded too 🙁
get the ttrs.
[…] afraid. Audi Australia is yet to officially respond to our correspondence seeking confirmation the RS3 will not be coming to Australia. However, their silence and reports of dealers refunding deposits tell their own […]
[…] More agile than the TT RS? Well, that is a good sign, even if Duff reckons the RS3 lacks emotional appeal. Audi UK has already sold its allocation of 500 cars, as well. Which, sadly, is 500 more cars than we’ll be seeing in Australia. […]