Audi RS3 Sportback (8Y)

Audi appears 25 times in the Dream Car Garage catalogue, but the RS3 Sportback stands apart by bringing one of the catalogue’s least common engine layouts into a modern super saloon package. Just 10 of the 600 cars use an inline-5 engine, and only 8 combine that layout with AWD. That rarity of configuration is the defining thread of this Audi’s place among the collection.

Its performance sits in a more nuanced position than the badge might suggest. With 401 bhp, the RS3 ranks 418th for power across all 600 cars, placing it in the top 70% of the catalogue rather than the extreme upper tier. Yet its 3.6 second 0-100 km/h time is much more competitive, faster than 383 cars in the collection and ranked 217th overall. The result is a car whose appeal comes from the balance of its ingredients, rather than a single headline figure.

The RS3 Sportback pairs a 2.5-litre turbocharged inline-5 with AWD, producing 500 Nm of torque and a top speed of 290 km/h. Those numbers place it in a distinctive corner of the garage, where a five-door hatchback body style meets serious performance capability. Among the 600 cars, that combination of practicality, all-weather drivetrain and uncommon engine layout is the detail that separates it from more familiar choices.

As a 2021 Audi from Germany, it also sits within a catalogue where German cars account for 197 entries, giving it a strong national presence while still retaining a specific identity. Its used price of £45,000 places it at rank 465 for cost across the collection, meaning it is more expensive than 135 cars here. At £112 per bhp, the numbers point towards a car purchased for its character and configuration as much as its output.

The RS3 Sportback suits the collector who wants a garage to contain more than the usual answers. It is for someone drawn to unusual mechanical choices, who notices that an inline-5 AWD turbocharged car is a rare entry point within 600 possibilities. Sitting alongside other Audi models, it adds a different expression of the marque, one defined by its compact format, five-door usability and a specification that few cars in the catalogue share.