new rs5

[s2driveruk]

honestly, it almost doesnt matter what it is, these days everything is just too polished. That was the fun of the URQ, it was plucked out of the forest, a stereo and a heather thrown in and it arrived in the showroom.

I've driven the RS4, the RS6 and the S8. For super fast, super refined they are bang on but they dont have soul and they are soooooooo heavy.

Have to say i don't like the a5, there is something wrong about the front end when completely side on... the wheel arch and wheel look like they are positioned wrong and make it look girly to me.

Unfortunately, NCAP and the like have meant that suddenly the car has to weigh more than the object it might hit and the people who can afford nice cars these days want every gadget going so they are loaded up, priced out of sight and are more eye candy/***** wagging than a proper fire breathing, motorsport gene'd machine.

Sad really

[Jamo]

@ us.

Better not forget that the B7 RS4 was the first Audi to beat the M3 in a head to head and the RS6 (recent model) was utterly, utterly bonkers

This one needed to showcase new technology, I bet Audi got in a panic about the competition having 8 cylinders and thought, 've must do ze same, ja!'

In terms of looks though, the A5 shape is a great rival to the 3 series coupe, if any of the electronics are still working in 15 years' time then it's a possibility

Go to Audisrs and see what the think of the B7 RS4, the B5 RS4 guys crucify them as they are basically limp.

Beyond the older RS6 and B5 RS4 Audi have they really made cars without souls recently.

[URquattroGus]

Looks a bit low on torque, and rather pricey at £58,000 before options (there will be many!).

My father has just taken delivery of a C63 AMG with P31 pack (bigger brakes, 6.2 ltr V8 with 487bhp and optional LSD)

It's awesome! Never liked merc's before but this one does actually handle, and the hot rod appeal just can't be underestimated. 6.2 V8 in a car the size of a mondeo.

This is to replace his C5 RS6, that has an MTM chip to 500BHP. Tested the new six, but found it v dissappointing, just too heavy and not really any faster, also has a sky high list price.

Once the merc is run in we hope to try a drag race on an airstrip before he sells the RS6!

Although not an estate, we considered the RS5 on the basis that he likes 4wd and maybe something a bit more focussed, but it seemed to be taking forever to come out, it's taken so long that we gave up even considering it.

Drove a B7 RS4 once, and found it a little flat compared to what I expected, have heard many don't put out the advertised power...

[Error404]

In truth Audi will never build a light, simple, fun and minimal sports car for lets say 25k... Its annoying as the formula is simple enough - 300bhp coupled with old school quattro, biased more to the rear as they have successfully done recently... all packaged into a low slung, sporty chassis that loves corners. Include some nice instruments and great seats in an otherwise stripped out interior and thats all is required.

I understand what you guys are saying but this isn't exacltly what audi is about as a car maker is it? Besides the fact that a car with that kind of spec in this day and age would have to retail at £45k minimum IMHO once you factor in the new platform and development costs - surely it have to be mini-R8-esque with a MR mounted IL5 and rear biased quattro sustem.

Honestly I like the S5 / RS5 and if I wanted a fast, comfortable and useable GT car and had £60k to spend it'd be on my list to look at - boring as it may be, it is what it is and I'm confident it'll be very good at that.
Whether its better than the M3 / GT-R is another story I suppose.....

Interesting to see some of those journos at Evo don't seem to understand that basics of the quattro drivetrain...

http://www.evo.co.uk/news/evonews/248602/audi_rs5_official_pictures.html

[Sonic]

Honestly I like the S5 / RS5 and if I wanted a fast, comfortable and useable GT car and had £60k to spend it'd be on my list to look at - boring as it may be, it is what it is and I'm confident it'll be very good at that.
Whether its better than the M3 / GT-R is another story I suppose.....

I'm with you on this, i absolutely love the S5 / RS5, but then i'm not one of you old boys and don't remember when the urq was launched

That said, as nice a car as it is i don't get the "sell a kidney and yer Nan" excitement from it as either Rusty put it.

[bad8008]

wonder if they ever gonna make RS5 Sporstback. Will make it on the Plan "C" maybe

[irvind]

When I first saw the A5 Sportback I thought the back end looked odd, but then saw the S5 Sportback, love it!
It's a shame that only the bankers and drug-dealers will be able to afford the RS5!

[EspenW]

As others have mentioned, the choice of power plant is puzzling to say the least. Hopefully it is vastly upgraded vs the limp RS4 lump. The V8 has such a bad reputation in the B7 RS4 for not being close to quoted power output. It struggles to put 300hp to the wheels on a proper dyno (Mustang, Dyno Dynamics, etc) and it will put a meager 330 ish hp to the hubs on a Dynapack/Rototest. That is rougly what the underrated 3.0T puts to the hubs, not to mentioned that the 3.0T puts down another 90nm at the hubs vs. the V8, and a remapped B8 S4 will rape it.
A 3L or bigger turbo engine would be the best choice.
I would pick the 3L supercharged or, of course, the TTRS engine over the V8 any day of the week. The big question is if Audi will have to buy back RS5's due to missing power, just as what happened to the B7 RS4.
Not to forget, will the intake valves look like the ones in the RS4 after a few thousand miles: