Audi of South Africa has confirmed that the RS 5 Coupe will be in the country by the third quarter of 2010. That means we should have seen it by the end of September, at the very latest. Fantastic news for those who have been waiting for it since the launch of the A5 and S5.
The two-door RS 5 is said to rewrite performance tallies for the segment and will be a super ambassador for its mother brand. It was first unveiled at the recent Geneva International Motor Show and features lightweight aluminium in its armour, and a 4.2-litre naturally aspirated V8 engine.
The high-revving motor makes 331kW at a nauseating 8250rpm and maximum torque of 430Nm between 4000rpm and 6000rpm. If you know the previous-generation RS 6 you’ll remember that its turbo 4.2 V8 made exactly 331kW too. Forcing all of that through the quattro AWD system is a 7-speed S Tronic gearbox. Audi claims a 0 – 100km/h figure of 4.6 seconds for the RS 5, 0.1 second quicker than the old RS 4. I suspect coastal tests from the likes of CAR, Cars in Action and TopCar will reveal a quicker time.
Should the BMW M3 and the Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG be genuinely afraid? I think so. RS 5 promises to be the car that safe drivers want, and heavy-hitters feel they can push to the limit. Quattro can have its performance setbacks in understeering but the RS 5 will send as much as 85% of torque to the rear wheels, essentially making it a RWD at that moment.
At this point it’s way too early to be getting official prices but we reckon something in the lines of R800 000 should be expected.
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