Spied: Audi RS3 caught leaving the 'Ring

Photos of this black, sans-camouflage Audi RS3 test mule have been getting nearly as much attention in the past few days as a celebrity nip-slip. Itching to jump on the tail end of this bandwagon, we held off posting until we received pics from our European spy photographer. Unfortunately, we were only able to get our hands on this one photo; capturing an up-close look at the RS3 after a hard day of testing at the Nurburgring. Hi-res image after the jump.



The debate of whether Audi would produce an RS variant of the current A3 platform was a heated one. Many said that the folks in Neckarsulm would hold off producing a RS3 until the new MQB platform release. Apparently though, the cry for a RS3 was too loud for Audi and quattro GmbH to ignore.

Word is, the RS3 is expected to sport the same 340 horsepower, 2.5 liter 5 cylinder found in the über-potent TT RS. Our photo offers a close view of the RS3's brakes which look like the same 370mm/310mm floating ventilated discs of TT RS. And most notably, the huge air inlets in of the front fascia, also nearly identical to the TT RS.

Having felt the power of the Audi TT RS first hand, we could certainly get used to a hot-hatch RS3 with comparable performance.

For more photos of this car running a few laps of 'Green Hell,' (and showing a very odd adjustable spoiler) check out Autoblog's gallery here.