Audi sharpen up their everyday super sportscar. Does it bring the heart to match the face?
A shiver of excitement is the first thing I feel as my foot finds its place on the throttle pedal. Was it me? Or was it the car? I guess it was a bit of both. There’s something about V8s and, more specifically, the character of the cars that bring them. It’s never the same. You know that person you meet for the very first time at a party, and after spending a few minutes together, it’s like you’ve known them your entire life; that’s how I believe it is with me and V8 cars. They just click, and leave me with a pocketful of smiles and loads of memories.
The Audi RS5 is an automotive creation, which, in a multitude of German precision engineering and products, is one of the few cars that actually speaks to you. It’s more than the sum of its parts and what they do collectively; it’s the joy of getting all of that and the sense that it’s not just waiting on you hand and foot. Because, you don’t want a machine doing exactly what you tell it to do; that would be – and actually is – very boring. Yes, it’s a thrill at first, but as time goes by, it wanes.
Not the RS5, it’s different. I’ve had the pleasure of having a go in its arch-rival, the Mercedes C63 AMG, and, although the RS5 is 7 PS and 170 Nm down, it brings bucket-loads more in different senses – fun, ferocity and four-wheel drive. The RS5 will listen to you, but if you put your foot down when you’re not sure of yourself, it will bite back and make you accept the correction. That is something which commands respect. So, how is the new RS5 different and why should you plonk down an eight-figure sum?
Pingback: The Day Has Come: Goodbye Audi RS 5 and 4.2 V8 | Car India : The World's Best Car Magazine