What's all this about?

Audi's only gone and made the excellent RS Q3 SUV even more powerful. Again.

Again?

Yup. It's only four years old, the RS Q3, and it started life with a 310hp iteration of the charismatic 2.5-litre TFSI five-pot under its bonnet. Last year, when Audi facelifted the whole Q3 range, the RS Q3 benefitted from an extra 30hp and 30Nm. But now even 340hp/450Nm has been surpassed, by the new RS Q3 Performance.

Performance?

Yes. And stop repeating everything we say. Audi does more powerful, more exclusive and more, er... equipped versions of both its desirable S and RS lines. With S, they're appended 'Plus'; for RS, they're appended 'Performance'. We've already seen the RS 6 and RS 7 get the treatment, being hiked to ludicrous outputs of 605hp and 750Nm.

So what does the RS Q3 Performance climb to?

An additional 27hp and 15Nm result in epic peaks of 367hp and 465Nm for this red-hot SUV. Achieved by enlarging the radiator and fiddling with the fuel pump, these increases slash another 0.4 seconds off the regular RS Q3's 0-62mph time to leave us with a crossover capable of the benchmark sprint in just 4.4 seconds; more than a second quicker than the old 310hp model's 5.5-second equivalent. Also, the standard top speed is limited at 168mph, instead of 155mph on any other RS Q3.

Has Audi done anything else to the mechanicals?

Not much. The seven-speed S tronic transmission has been mildly reprogrammed, the quattro drivetrain's Sport mode in ESC is a bit more lenient and as an option you can have the RS Sport Suspension Plus with damper control.

Is it a lot worse on fuel?

Audi reckons it isn't, quoting the same 32.8mpg and 203g/km CO₂ figures as for the 340hp RS Q3.

It doesn't look much different to the regular car. What's changed here?

Again, not much. Matt titanium trim and wheels are the biggest giveaways, the colour clothing the front air intakes, 'Singleframe' grille, side window strips, door mirrors, roof rails, rear diffuser and boot lip spoiler fins, as well as the bespoke 20-inch twin five-spoke V-design alloys. Inside is blue stitching and blue weave carbon fibre, to go with the Ascari Blue exterior hue now offered on the RS Q3. Oh, and the brake callipers are painted red, although Audi will spray them black for free if you prefer.

How much will it cost and when can I order one?

The order book opens later this month and it's priced from £49,175 on-the-road.

Matt Robinson - 4 Feb 2016