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Audi has gone to town on its S3 Saloon for the annual Wörthersee show later this month, shoehorning a 2.5-litre five-pot under the bonnet and tweaking it to 525hp and 600Nm. The resulting 192mph monster is the A3 clubsport quattro concept, and by God, don't we wish this was a preview of the future production Audi RS 3...

Exterior

Well, where do we start? Just look at it. The front end seems to be entirely intake, with headlights thrown in for good measure. And it looks superb. Like the Audi S3, the clubsport quattro concept is based on the MQB platform for a low centre of gravity. Audi says it has steel components in the floor of the passenger cell to strengthen the structure, allowing the bodywork to be lightweight.

The colour is Magnetic Blue and that mammoth 'Singleframe' grille is surrounded by matt aluminium. Like a lot of top-line RS Audis, there's a 'quattro' logo in the honeycomb structure of said grille and the bonnet - which protrudes slightly over the lights - wears the four rings, like the R8 and the 420hp TT quattro sport concept seen at Geneva (which will also be at the Austrian event at the end of May, presumably sitting in the shadow of this mad A3).

There's exposed carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) below the grille, while round the sides there's more CFRP for the sills, plus it has fat arches, a round fuel filler cap and smaller door mirrors, and some extra creases to define its profile. At the rear is a diffuser that juts into the middle of the bumper, beefy exhausts and an airbrake on the boot lid that can reduce the stopping distance from 155mph by 12 metres. The whole car looks like a shrunken refugee from the DTM.

Interior

The interior is said to 'seat four comfortably', although there are racing buckets in the front. There are CFRP shells on the backs of these seats, while the instrument dials are black with red needles and white numbers. The two buttons on the wheel can start and stop the engine, as well as cycle through the Audi drive select modes. There's a lot of black inside with grey piping and Sepang Blue stitching, brushed aluminium in the dash and stainless steel for the pedals. The S tronic gear lever also features a red ring, CFRP badge and clubsport logo.

Mechanicals

The 525hp engine is a reworked version of the 2,480cc five-cylinder unit found in the RS Q3, here using a modified intercooler and a larger turbocharger that can boost to 1.5 bar. In this installation, it has a scary specific output of 211hp-per-litre, propelling a car with a kerb weight of 1,527kg for a power-to-weight ratio of almost 344hp-per-tonne.

The 600Nm peak is available from 2,300- to 6,000rpm, meaning the clubsport quattro demolishes 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds on its way to a freaky 192mph. There's a seven-speed S tronic gearbox channelling power to all four wheels, with a taller seventh gear to reduce fuel consumption (ha!) and allow that top speed. The A3 clubsport has launch control, part-aluminium front MacPherson suspension and a four-link rear set-up. The car also has variable steering assistance, 21-inch alloys and 370mm front brake discs made of carbon ceramic.

Finally, the clubsport concept is 10mm lower than the S3 Saloon and all its spring and damper rates are bespoke, with three parameters adjustable via the struts of the coilovers.

Anything else?

The Volkswagen Group has history at this show - it was here that the also-crazy Golf GTI W12-650 was revealed to the world in 2007. And yes, that was a Golf Mk5 with a W12 engine making, yup, 650hp. Just to remind you, that's in a Golf. Madness.