The four-door sedan in the video below isn't your usual RS 3, though. It's the so-called Performance version, which premiered in October 2023 with the highest speed in the segment. Ingolstadt's favorite son quotes 300 kilometers per hour (make that 186 miles per hour) as opposed to 290 kilometers per hour (180 miles per hour) for the regular version with the RS Dynamic Package.
Lower down the spectrum, the RS 3 is much obliged to reach 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour) as standard. Coincidentally, that's also the top speed of the M4 Coupe-twinned M2 Coupe. Customers who pony up a few more euros for the M Driver's Package can lift the top speed to 285 kilometers per hour (177 miles per hour), which makes the M2 a tad slower than the RS 3.
On a long enough stretch of Autobahn, that is. But when it comes to a kilometer-long drag race on a long straight, you'll be surprised to find out that BMW's most purist M car in production today has the edge on the RS 3. Pictured at the Lurcy-Levis circuit in France, the compact thrillers finished the standing kilometer in 21.6 seconds for the Audi and 21.5 for the Bimmer. Of course, the M2 got off the line worse because it's exclusively rear-wheel drive.
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