The internet is springing leaks all over the place prior to
Geneva, and the latest victim is poor little Audi, which has been forced to tell us about the RS5 before its debut in Switzerland. Pictures from a brochure found their way online, somehow.
The headline news is that it uses the 4.2-litre V8 from
the R8, no less - but tuned to develop 30bhp
more than the supercar gets. The magic number is 444bhp and it revs to 8,250rpm. Peak torque of 318lb.ft is found all the way up at 4,000rpm. They're the numbers of a proper screaming V8, they are.
It's the third engine to slot into a performance A5, because while the
S5 coupé uses a naturally aspirated 4.2-litre V8, the
Cabriolet gets the newer 'V6T' supercharged V6 from
the S4. The RS5 is miles ahead of both performance-wise though, capable of knocking out 62mph from rest in 4.6 seconds. Top speed is 155mph - or 174mph if you ask Audi specifically.
Power goes to all four wheels via a seven-speed S-Tronic twin-clutch auto, and the differential is unique to the RS5, capable of sending up to 85 percent of the power to the rear wheels. Sounds like a recipe for power oversteer to us. It's actually rear-biased normally too, sending 60 percent backwards and the remaining 40 to the front.
On the styling front there are no real surprises; it's an S5 with the Spinal Tap treatment. The spoiler rises at 75mph so that Constable Mardy knows instantly that you're speeding, and it gets two large ovular tailpipes so Joe Public knows instantly that you're rolling in the flagship. Rims of 19-inch diameter are standard and the suspension is dropped by 20mm - so you're slammed if you put the optional 20-inch wheels on it.
Expect a price tag in the region of £60,000 and an on-sale date this summer.
Mark Nichol - 22 Feb 2010