Audi has unveiled its new high-performance RS Q3 ahead of its Geneva Motor Show debut.

It’s the latest addition to Audi’s growing RS lineup, and will be the first RS model to cost less than $100,000 when it goes on sale in the first quarter of 2014.

Boasting a new 228kW turbocharged five-cylinder engine, the compact SUV is capable of 0-100km/h in just 5.5 seconds, yet will use just 8.8L/100km.

Audi has also used a unique ignition sequence for the 2.5-litre engine, designed to deliver a sound similar to the iconic powerplants that made Audi so popular in the late 1980s.

A seven-speed S tonic gearbox shifts the power to all four wheels, with RS Q3 also given unique visual highlights to separate it from the rest of the Q3 range.