Thirty years after the original Audi quattro captivated the Geneva Motor Show, the new Audi RS 5 Coupe is about to do it proud with a combination of high-revving V8 power, super fast S tronic twin-clutch gear shifting and a new evolution of the world famous all-wheel-drive system featuring the latest differential technology. Following its debut at the 2010 Geneva Show, the extreme RS reinterpretation of the elegant A5 two-door is expected to open for order in the UK in the spring priced at circa £58,500, and will reach its first customers in October.
Developed by Audi high performance engineering and styling subsidiary quattro GmbH, the RS 5 is the latest in an illustrious lineage dating back over 15 years to the RS 2 Avant. This RS can of course also trace its roots to the original or ‘Ur’ quattro launched in Geneva in 1980, but also to the critically acclaimed R8 sports car, the V10 FSI engine from which provides the technological basis for the new hand-built, high-revving 4.2-litre V8 FSI engine that spins freely and charismatically to 8,250pm, and delivers its 450PS peak output at this high point. A torque maximum of 430Nm is available between 4,000 and 6,000rpm, helping to power the new, 1725kg RS 5 to 62mph in 4.6 seconds and to an electronically governed 155mph top speed. (more…)