Audi Killed The RSQ3, But Spy Shots Suggest America Is Finally Getting A Hot Q3

America’s Long Wait For A Hot Q3 Might Finally Be Over

Here’s a small but genuinely annoying gap in Audi’s US lineup that most people never noticed because you can’t miss what you never had: America never got the RSQ3. That growly five-cylinder compact SUV existed and was killed off over two years ago, and stateside buyers simply never got the chance to know what they were missing. Spy shots now suggest Audi’s fixing that — just not with the car you’d expect.

The Tailpipes Are Doing All The Talking

The giveaway here is refreshingly simple: this prototype has two pairs of round rear tailpipes, matching the S3 sedan’s signature look. The old RSQ3 — like the RS3, RS5, and RS6 — ran oval pipes. That detail alone tells spy photographers this is an SQ3, not an RSQ3 successor, which is a meaningfully different car both mechanically and in terms of positioning.

Why This Timing Actually Makes Sense

Audi has never offered an SQ3 before — this isn’t a revival, it’s a genuinely new tier in the lineup. And it lines up suspiciously well with what Cupra’s already doing on the same MQB Evo platform: the Formentor’s 2.0-liter EA888 four-cylinder makes 329 hp, and VW’s upcoming European Tiguan R is expected to share that engine. If Audi’s SQ3 borrows the same unit, that’s a well-proven, already-homologated powertrain rather than something built from scratch — which usually means a faster path to market.

The Numbers, If The Formentor Comparison Holds

Assuming the shared-engine theory is right: roughly 329 hp, all-wheel drive via Haldex, a seven-speed dual-clutch, torque vectoring, and probably a drift mode because nobody skips that box anymore. Expect 0-62 mph around 4.8 seconds — a touch behind the old RSQ3’s 394-hp five-cylinder, but likely arriving at a genuinely sub-$60,000 price rather than RS-badge money.

The Question Nobody’s Answering Yet

Here’s the part that actually matters long-term: is the SQ3 arriving instead of an RSQ3 successor, or alongside one eventually? Audi execs have made noises about potentially reinventing the five-cylinder as a hybrid, which would be a genuinely exciting way to keep that engine’s character alive in an era of turbo-four sameness. Whether that actually happens or stays a talking point is the more interesting long-term story here.

My Take

A sub-$60K, 329-hp Quattro SUV that finally gives BMW’s X1 M35i a direct rival is a genuinely good outcome for American buyers, even if it’s not the five-cylinder soundtrack RSQ3 fans were hoping for. I’d take a confirmed SQ3 today over a maybe-someday hybrid five-cylinder revival. Sometimes the pragmatic option is also just the better car to actually own.

Would a turbo-four SQ3 be enough to scratch the itch, or does losing the five-cylinder character matter more to you than the price and availability upside? Let me know.