2022 Audi RS3 at Lightning Lap 2023

From the February/March 2023 issue of Car and Driver.

Lap Time: 2:52.5

Class: LL2 | Base: $67,695 | As-Tested: $75,045
Power and Weight: 401 hp • 3610 lb • 9.0 lb/hp
Tires: Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R; F: 265/30ZR-19 (93Y) AO, R: 245/35ZR-19 (93Y) AO

We’ve read your letters asking about how much impact R-compound tires have on a lap at VIR. The Audi RS3 gave us that answer this year as we saw how sticky rubber transformed the 401-hp sports sedan.

Lapping on the standard Pirelli P Zero PZ4s, a solid summer performance tire, the RS3 squirms under hard braking, the PZ4s whimper when leaned on, and the tail gets squirrelly when you get back on the power, particularly as the car unloads coming down the hill exiting Turn 10. Even so, a 3:01.9 outing on day one—3.7 seconds better than the previous-generation RS3—would typically be good enough to load it back on the hauler.

Audi, however, will sell RS3 buyers a set of Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R rubber for only $450. Given how the tires change the RS3, Audi could charge four times that. It takes only a lap or so to begin thinking Audi engineered the car to roll on this rubber from the start. The steering wakes up, and grip levels rise everywhere, leading to big increases in cornering speeds, which translate to greater speed on the Front Straight—147.2 mph on the Trofeo Rs versus 141.0 on the PZ4s. The stickier rubber and optional carbon-ceramic front rotors ($5500) dare you to brake later and later. The increased adhesion allows earlier application of the throttle when exiting corners without any tail-wagging. The RS3’s 114.6-mph exit speed out of the Climbing Esses, a section that calls for stability and grip, trailed only the Corvette Z06 and the Cayman GT4 RS this year. The RS3’s 2:52.5 lap is more than 13 seconds quicker than the old car on PZ4s. Considering engine power is about the same as the last RS3, the Trofeo Rs are one of the best time-for-buck options in Lightning Lap history.

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