The Audi RS3 Nardo is a 174mph saloon

This is a fast Audi, and it is called the RS3 Nardo edition. Judging by how popular these things are, merely whispering ‘Fast Audi’ will do the trick.

So, Audi. Is fast. This special Nardo edition is even faster than the normally-very-fast RS3, because it gets the speed limiter removed. As such, here’s a small saloon that’d quite happily do 174mph. Possibly more, because even that 174mph is still electronically limited.

Said Fast comes via the medium of Audi’s always excellent 2.5-litre turbo five-cylinder engine, mated to a super-sharp seven-speed gearbox and 4WD. It produces 394bhp, 354lb ft of torque and is capable of accelerating you and your slack-jawed small family to 62mph in probably under four seconds. We say ‘probably under’, because Audi quotes 4.1secs, and Audi is conservative with its sprint times.

It also comes with “standard RS fixed sport suspension”, said to make it more agile and able around a good corner. Or a bad corner. Just corners, basically. Bear in mind that the ride on an RS3 was never forgiving in the first place.

So, Audi. Is Really Very Fast and Probably Also Still Very Firm. This one, as you can see, is equipped in special Nardo grey paintwork, some black trim, red brake calipers, a black rear lip spoiler and other external items decorated in gloss black. All very schporty and definitely not aggressive. At all.

Available in the States, Audi is only building 200 of these RS3 Nardo editions, each starting from $59,900. We suspect by the time you’d read ‘Fast Audi’ up top, they'd probably all been accounted for.