Tag: RS5

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Audi RS5: Australian pricing & specs

Audi RS5

Audi Australia has launched the RS5 with a manufacturer’s list price of $175,300. You’ll still need to pay a few statutory charges, but that’s about $4600 less than the AUSmotive prediction. A small saving, however, you still sense that price point is going to ensure Audi has to fight hard for every sale. Okay, it’s probably a bit tired to continually make this comparison, but you can bet the words BMW M3 will cross the lips of most RS5 buyers at some stage.

The RS5 has received extensive coverage on AUSmotive, so there’s no great need to go over the details again. The basics remain, that is the RS5 is powered by a 331kW 4.2 litre V8 driven by a quattro system featuring trick terms like torque vectoring and crown-gear centre differential. You can find out more on that technology here: quattro 101.

After the break you can read Audi’s press release and check out their latest gallery of images. It’s a great looking car, that’s for sure. Also included for download are the following items, all correct at time of publication:

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Australian launch of Audi RS5 imminent

Audi RS5

Information found its way to AUSmotive recently that the Audi RS5 will more than likely be making its local debut at the Australian International Motor Show, which starts in mid-October. This complements another anonymous tip that was received some time ago now that reveals the entry level list pricing for the 4.2 litre V8 powered RS5 is expected to be $179,900.

There are reports of RS5s being seen at Audi dealerships around the country and even stories of a few customer pre-orders, as well. Standard equipment starts with the 331kW engine coupled to a 7 speed S tronic transmission. Also thrown in for good measure is Audi’s familiar quattro system which has been tricked up some more thanks to a crown-gear centre differential with torque vectoring. Xenon headlights with adaptive technology are included, too, along with high beam assist, three zone climate control, MMI Navigation Plus, Audi Music Interface and more.

In addition to the basic spec customers can choose from a range of options, including two choices of 20″ rims ($3885 or $4128 if you want the titanium finish), ceramic brakes ($15,000), Dynamic steering ($1080), Matt aluminium styling pack ($1335), Matt black styling pack ($1044), Adaptive cruise control ($2945), heated RS bucket seats ($3450) and a 14-speaker Bang & Olufsen stereo upgrade ($2306).

A total of nine colours will be available for the RS5 and it’ll cost you $1695 if you want sparkles in your paint. The range of options is as follows, Monza Silver, Suzuka Grey, Daytona Grey, Missano Red, Mugello Blue, Phantom Black, Panther Black, Sepang Blue and Ibis White.

The thing is, though, with a $180K starting price, pushing well into the 200s, with a few options ticked, won’t take a lot of effort. That’s a lot of cash for a car that has an impressive natural rival in the BMW M3.

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Audi

Audi Project Anniversario back in flight?

Audi Project Anniversario

Earlier in the week some very grainy footage of a car being delivered to a ski jump arena was posted to YouTube. The accepted theory was that the car attached to the chopper was an Audi R4 e-tron being filmed in preparation for some promo material. However, thanks to these new photos published by Autobild it turns out the car could very well be a prototype model of the Project Anniversario, which is a new 21st century Quattro model.

We’ve not heard anything about the Anniversario for some time, so this news is most welcome. It is understood the model will be based on the RS5 Coupé and it is due for launch in 2012.

The real kick expected from the Anniversario is its anticipated 1400kg weight. This would be some 325kg lighter than the RS5. It’s uncertain what engine the Anniversario might use, but it could be the 4.2 litre V8 from the RS5 makes way for a new V6 helped along with a turbocharger or two. With any luck all will be revealed at the Paris Motor Show, which starts on 30 September.

There’s a few more pics after the break, including a couple of new renderings. It looks a bit spesh, what do you think?

[Source: The German Car Blog via Autobild]

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Another RS5 review

Audi RS5

[First filed 19 April]

Car and Driver were in attendance at the recent Audi RS5 launch in Spain. Obviously this meant they got some time behind the wheel of Audi’s new super coupé with the freedom offered by the wonderful Ascari race resort.

Here’s a snippet from their generally very positive article:

“The handling is definitely what one would call forgiving, and at the limit, you appreciate the improvement from the more nose-heavy Audis of yore. We won’t say whether the RS5 will trump the benchmark BMW M3 just yet, but we think it’s going to be one hell of a fight”

You can read the rest of Car and Driver’s piece by following the link below. The RS5 has a lot to live up to, especially if, as I fear, there is no new RS4 in the works. So, can Audi’s latest RS model keep up the promising feedback, or will it ultimately get close to its rivals and fall short?

[Source: Car and Driver]

UPDATE 22 April: Winding Road have filed their report from Spain now. They reckon the RS5 is the duck’s guts, declaring, “This is easily the best Audi RennSport-level experience we’ve yet had.” That’s some compliment. They also say the RS5 should take it right up to its Mercedes and BMW rivals.

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Audi

Five RS5 videos

Audi RS5

Following written reports of the Audi RS5 from Autocar and Car and Driver come these five videos filmed by motoring hacks at the RS5 press launch, held at the Ascari Race Resort in Spain. There’s a mix of aggressive and timid on track action, as well as some footage filmed on the fun looking winding roads near the Ascari track.

As far as the handling and performance of the RS5 goes not a lot is given away in the clips that follow, suffice to say the car does seem quite well balanced, its 4.2 litre V8 sounds pretty nice and the 7-speed S tronic does seem willing to bounce of the rev limiter, rather than forcing the driver to endure an unwanted upshift.

If nothing else you get a pretty good idea of the elevation changes on the track layout used for the launch. You also get to see some not so special overtaking moves on a public road.

UPDATE 21 April: Better make that SIX videos—a new clip filmed on public roads has been added below.

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Autocar drives the Audi RS5

Audi RS5

Autocar is one of the first publications to get their hands on Audi’s new RS5. With a revised 4.2 litre V8 sourced from Ingolstadt’s famed RS4 and a svelte coupé body can the RS5 match the rave reviews of its sedan and wagon siblings? Here’s a grab of what reviewer Jamie Corstorphine had to say:

“Is the RS5 a car you would drive with no destination in mind? Like almost every other Audi, it feels like a piece of heavy machinery, one with deep reserves of engineering capability, but it is also one of the rare Audis that also has a fluidity and delicacy to it. I’d stop short of saying it would be a car I would choose to take on a track day, but for a non-stop return trip from London to the top of Scotland, there are few cars I would be happier to be in.”

Follow the link below for the full review.

[Source: Autocar]

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Audi

VIDEO: Unbridled power

Audi RS5

The Audi RS5 created waves in the blogosphere when images were “leaked” back in February. Now, Audi have decided to calm things down a bit with this new video of the RS5. Check it out after the jump.

It’s a long play advertisement, really, and the voiceover guy sounds about as excited as Mark Webber was in his post-race interview at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.

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VIDEO: Audi RS5 teaser

Audi RS5 video teaser

Another brief video teaser from Audi now, this time featuring the new RS5 coupé. The sound of the 4.2 V8 FSI being driven around an empty racetrack is one well worth listening to. There’s also a cameo appearance from an original Ur Quattro. But more on that later.

Check out the clip after the break.

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Audi UK confirms RS5 pricing & specs

Audi RS5

Audi UK have just released details confirming their local specs for the RS5 featuring a 450PS 4.2 FSI V8 which will go on sale there in October. It’s all as expected and pricing starts at £57,480 OTR (approx AU$96,000). Expect Australians to be paying significantly more than that. Sigh.

You can read the press release below.

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OFFICIAL: Audi RS5 confirmed for Geneva Motor Show

2010 Audi RS5

Just through from Audi now is official confirmation that the RS5 will debut at Geneva as expected. Following the leaked images of the RS5 over the weekend Audi has also confirmed the car’s basic specs, which are pretty much as reported last week.

Powered by a naturally aspirated high rev 4.2-litre V8 FSI, the RS5 will have peak power of 331kW (450PS) at 8250rpm, with maximum torque of 430Nm available from 4000-6000rpm. Coupled with a specially reinforced 7-speed S tronic transmission the RS5 is able to accelerate to 100km/h in 4.6 seconds. Not bad for a car tipping the scales at more than 1725kg. This is the first of Audi’s RS models to be fitted with the double clutch technology and, at this stage, there is no word on a manual gearbox option.

The engine is derived from the acclaimed B7 RS4 model, but advancements to the engine management, intake and exhaust have enabled Audi engineers to find more power and torque, while at the same time improving overall efficiency. Highlighted by the claimed average fuel consumption of just 10.8l/100km. That’s impressive.

Also getting a once over is the car’s quattro all-wheel drive system. Now fitted with a self-locking crown-gear differential, up to 70% of available torque can be sent to the front wheels, or up to 85% to the rear. In normal conditions the torque is split 40:60, front to rear.

Riding on either 19″ or optional 20″ alloy wheels the RS5 is fitted with 265/35 tyres as standard. To ensure the RS5 can stop effectively 365mm vented discs can be found up front, with the option of 380mm ceramic carbon discs, as well.

After driving the V8 powered S5 last year, I was left feeling like the car was more lazy cruiser than ball tearing coupe. The added power of the RS5 is one thing, but have Audi been able to give the overall driving experience a bit of a nudge as well? Something a car like this both demands and deserves. I’ve heard one unsubstantiated rumour about the RS5’s exploits around the Nürburgring Nordschleife (sub 8 minutes), and if that proves correct it would seem Audi have got it right. For reference, the E92 BMW M3’s best unofficial time stands at 8:05 as tested by Horst von Saurma from German publication Sport Auto.

Other points of interest include an ESP system that can be completely disabled if required. A rear wing, usually hidden in the boot lid, will raise automatically at speeds over 120km/h, it will retract again once speed is below 80km/h. The underbody of the RS5 has been designed to aid downforce, while also providing optimum cooling benefits to the brakes and S tronic gearbox.

Usual Audi RS styling tweaks, such as flared wheel guards and twin oval exhaust tips are also seen on the RS5, as most readers will already be aware.

The RS5 will go on sale in Europe in a few weeks, with a starting price of around €77,700 (AU$117,500). Sadly, you can bet the RS5 will cost a lot more than that when it makes it to Australian shores before the end of 2010.

The full press release from Audi can be read below and six more new pics are also available in 2000px super image sizing.

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Audi RS5 leaked images

Audi RS5 brochure

Following the news the Audi RS5 will be released at the Geneva Motor Show comes these leaked images from a forthcoming sales brochure. There’s 28 images in all, but not a lot of written detail is given.

There are no shots of the engine bay, but we’re still expecting to see a normally aspirated V8 under the bonnet to be badged as a 4.2 FSI HDZ. Peak power from the high-rev concept engine should be around the 330kW (450PS) mark. Looking at one of the pics below redline starts around 8200rpm, and it looks like you may be able to extend past that a little. Maybe?

You can see that there will be three choices for seating and four alloy wheel designs to choose from. As expected there is no manual gearbox shown, so it will be S tronic only for now. Hopefully a 6-speed manual transmission is released later at a later date. It would also seem apparent that Audi’s familiar flat bottomed steering wheel is not standard equipment, with all interior shots showing a conventionally shaped wheel. This is offset by the fact it can be optioned in alcantara, along with the S tronic shifter.

So, for now, just feast your eyes on these images and let your excitement build in anticipation for official details to be announced soon. Make sure you click on the pics below to load the larger 1460px sizing.

UPDATE 23 Feb: Official details and images have now been released by Audi.

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Next-gen Audi RS4 and RS5 expected to keep V8 engines

Audi RS5

A recent report published on the independent Audi website Fourtitude claims the next model RS4 and RS5 (B8-based) will use V8 engines. There has been a lot of speculation about the powerplants for the upcoming über-Audis, with some suggestion of a turbocharged 3.0 V6 being used. However, after speaking with an Audi executive the Fourtitude lads wrote “The RS4 and RS5 will get a high-revving engine like the outgoing RS4. The high-rev applications in the R8 and B7-generation RS4 have impressed Audi’s engine development teams and they wish to continue in that direction with the next-gen of Audi’s hottest models.”

Audi is expected to stick with 4.2 litre displacement used in the previous RS4 and power could be up by as much as 50hp on the 420hp available in the old model. Power will be put to ground through an optional 7-speed S tronic transmission and a revised quattro system. Follow the links below for more detail.

Source: Fourtitude, via autoblog