It took almost a year, but North American fans of the Audi RS3 Sedan can now start getting excited. The beefed-up, high-performance model of the A3->ke1086 family is closer than ever to finally making its debut in this part of the world. Word of the RS3’->ke3198s long-overdue arrival in North America was brought to our attention by Quattro World, which quoted sources close to the German automaker that the brand is finally ready to green light the RS3’s first voyage across the Atlantic.

According to Quattro World’s sources, Audi->ke14 execs confirmed the RS3’s North American status during the Audi Summit for Audi of America employees. As far as specific details are concerned, there aren’t any yet at this moment. For one, no timetable has been given as to when the car will arrive. The most sensible guess would be sometime in late 2017, which would give the RS3 a 2018MY designation. A price tag has also not been revealed. That makes some sense if there’s still an extended timetable before the model hits the market in North America. My best guess at this point would be somewhere in $50,000 range, and maybe even closer $60,000. That’s taking into account the fact that the 2016 Audi S3, currently the range-topping version of the A3 family in NA, starts at $42,500.

For now, those details hardly matter. Nor is the reason for the monumental change of heart. What is important is that the model is coming to North America. We’ve waited long enough.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

Why it matters

I never thought this day would come. Really. I didn’t think Audi would even consider it because of the stiff competition the model would have in the market. But, something happened along the way that changed the company’s mind. I don’t know exactly what that is, but I do think that it’s record-setting sales numbers in the US in 2015 had something to do with it. Remember, Audi sold 202,202 units in 2015 and that number is expected to increase in 2016. In the first month of the year alone, the company successfully extended its monthly sales record to 61 months after selling 11,850 units. That number is 2.7 percent higher than its sales numbers in the same time period last year.

All this points to another healthy sales run for the German automaker in 2016. The Audi Q7 is already leading the way after posting its best sales month in the US with 2,336 units sold, 165.5 percent more than its sales from January 2015. Other Audi models like the A3, Q3, and Q5 are also expected to continue their strong sales performances. Then there’s the arrival of the all-new A4, which would also help Audi further boost is sales numbers.

It’s not a stretch to think that Audi’s business in North America is on the upswing, and that could very well be the reason why the company has finally decided to bring the RS3 to this region. Timing plays a huge part in these decisions and, with Audi in the position that it’s in, the time feels right for the high-performance sedan to finally make its long-awaited arrival.

2016 Audi RS3 Sedan

Read our full review on the 2016 Audi RS3 Sedan here.