Updated Audi S3 to close power gap to cheaper Volkswagen Golf R

The facelifted 2025 Audi S3 hot hatch – due to be unveiled as part of an updated A3 range later this year – will once again no longer play second-fiddle to its cheaper Volkswagen sibling in the power race.

For the past 11 of the 15 years the twins have shared an engine, the S3 has always produced the same or more power than its Golf R counterpart, owing to Audi's higher rank – and higher prices – in the VW Group hierarchy.

The latest models introduced three years ago left the Audi at a 7kW/20Nm deficit to the VW – with 228kW/400Nm compared to 235kW/420Nm – and lack a torque-vectoring rear differential promising sharper handling and a 'drift mode'.

Now Audi has confirmed the 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder engine in the facelifted S3 will receive a boost to 245kW and 420Nm, and the clever rear differential – also fitted to the five-cylinder Audi RS3 flagship – will be added.

It will be capable of 0-100km/h in a claimed 4.7 seconds, one tenth of a second quicker than the outgoing S3 – and a match for the 235kW/420Nm VW, which is fractionally lighter.

The Golf R is also poised for a facelift, which reports suggest will bring the same 245kW/420Nm engine tune. In the Golf R 20 Years special edition – which debuted the 245kW configuration – a 0-100km/h time of 4.6 seconds was claimed, quicker than the updated Audi.

Audi claims the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission "enables more rapid acceleration thanks to higher starting torque" – by compressing the clutch pack "more strongly" – with the gear shift speed halved under full acceleration.

The company says "engine speeds are increased under partial load when the transmission is set to D" – which suggests the transmission is keener to shift to a lower gear under partial accelerator-pedal pressure.

Mirroring the Golf R 20 Years, the facelifted S3 can keep the turbocharger spinning at a set rpm when the car is a constant speed, and the accelerator is partially pressed – so the car responds faster if the driver floors the accelerator.

The 2025 S3 is also due to gain the torque-vectoring rear differential from the RS3 and Golf R, which allows for all of the torque sent to the rear wheels – which at any one time is no more than 50 per cent of the engine's 420Nm maximum – to be routed to either rear wheel.

In a new Dynamic Plus drive mode, Audi proudly boasts the differential sends "as much drive torque as possible" to the outside rear wheel in a corner, "resulting in a tendency to oversteer".

This is reined in by "modest interventions" by a more relaxed stability-control system, for "an even more emotional driving experience on surfaces with different friction coefficients" – which appears to be press-release speak for a snowy, dirt, gravel or wet tarmac roads.

In the Golf R and RS3 it is capable of a 'drift mode', however it is unclear if this will be offered in the S3.

The Dynamic Plus mode also increases the idle speed of the engine by 200rpm to 1300rpm, sharpens the throttle response, and adopts more aggressive gear-shift programming.

Audi claims further changes for the facelifted S3 include reworked front suspension components – including increased camber, for improved cornering grip – plus more precise steering, revised stability-control software, and new Falken high-performance tyres.

The front brake discs now measure 357mm by 34mm – up from 340mm by 30mm – and gain two-piston calipers with larger pads.

Images of camouflaged prototypes released by Audi show the updated S3 is in line for a restyled front fascia with a new bumper and air intakes, plus tweaked tail-light graphics, a sportier rear bumper, and new 19-inch alloy wheels.

It will now be available with an Akrapovic titanium sports exhaust which is optional on high-performance Volkswagens and Cupras in Europe, and has been offered in Australia on the VW Golf R 20 Years, Cupra Formentor VZx and Cupra Ateca VZx.

Interior changes are also expected, though only revised digital instrument cluster graphics borrowed from the RS3 have been shown to date.

Similar updates are expected for the regular Audi A3 range – and in time, the RS3. The 2025 Audi S3 is due to be unveiled in Europe in the coming months.

Australian arrival timing is yet to be announced, but it is unlikely the S3 will arrive in local showrooms until next year, given it is yet to be revealed without camouflage.