Audi to inject the Q3 with RS muscle?

Audi Q3 Crossover

While the India bound Audi Q3 Crossover that will arrive into the country sometime in early 2012, will feature both petrol and diesel engines, both not delivering significantly more than 200 Bhp, Audi has some mega plans for the Q3 Crossover for markets elsewhere. Thus we have a report trickling in today that Audi has plans of giving the Q3 a RS moniker.

Needless to say, plenty of power and torque will be the result, along with some terrific handling thrown into the equation. Word floating around the interweb suggests that Audi could shoehorn the 2.5 liter petrol five potter in the form of the 2.5 TFSI engine, which uses turbocharging and direct injection to make for some spirited power and torque figures.

Audi Q3 Crossover

The engine meanwhile, comes with a variety of mapping options for power outputs ranging from a power packed 335 Bhp to a monstrously powerful 500+ Bhp. We’re only wondering how hard the engineers at Audi will have to work to make all that power translate into linear motion on the Audi Q3. Any which ways, that is something we’ll leave the Audi engineers to figure out.

For India though, the Q3 Crossover could get either the 140 Bhp 2 Liter TDI Diesel engine, or the same engine in a more powerful state of tune producing about 170 Bhp. While the 140 Bhp engine promises plenty of frugality, we’re hinging on Audi India to bring in the 170 Bhp engine to India as both the Volkswagen Passat and the Audi Q5 feature this engine apart from the fact that the Q3 rival, the BMW X1, comes with a 177 Bhp power output from it’s turbodiesel engine.

The petrol engine could either be the 170 Bhp or the 205 Bhp, 2 liter TFSI unit, which is the standard petrol engine for the Q3 globally. The Audi Q3 Crossover is expected to retail for a couple of lakhs higher than the BMW X1 Crossover, and for that price, Audi India needs to make sure that it offers the Indian customer a solid reason to buy the Q3 over the highly successful BMW X1 Crossover.