- New RS5 gets 630 hp hybrid V6, hits 62 mph in 3.6 seconds.
- Available in fastback sedan and Avant wagon body styles.
- Rear torque wizardry promises less understeer, more drifts.
This is the new RS5, Audi Sport’s replacement for both the old RS4 and RS5 and the company’s first high performance plug-in hybrid, and it’s not shy about it. Under the hood is a 2.9 liter twin turbo V6 that’s teamed with an electric motor stashed inside the transmission, and together they generate enough muscle to make a BMW M3 look like a shopping car.
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The V6 derived from the one in the old RS4/RS5 makes 503 hp (510 PS) and 443 lb-ft (600 Nm) on its own, to which the electric motor integrated into the eight speed automatic, adds 174 hp (177 PS / 130 kW) and 339 lb-ft (460 Nm). Combined, they deliver 630 hp (639 PS), and 608 lb-ft (825 Nm).
That is 157 hp more than the base BMW M3’s 473 hp and 107 hp more than the BMW M3 Competition xDrive’s 523 hp. Audi claims a 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) sprint in 3.6 seconds.
The battery is a fairly hefty one. Audi quotes 22 kWh net, tucked under the boot floor, with AC charging up to 11 kW. It should be good for up to 50 miles (80 km) of electric range, which is a heap better than the 9 miles (13 km) the outgoing AMG C63 hybrid offers.
Understeer? Not Here
But there’s more to the new RS5 sedan and its Avant wagon brother than an engine. The Quattro all-wheel drive system has a new center diff that helps turn-in and can trim that classic Audi nose push. Out back is Dynamic Torque Control, an electro mechanical torque vectoring rear transaxle that can shuffle torque between rear wheels in milliseconds.
There’s even an RS Torque Rear mode, which is the polite German phrase for ‘drift mode.’ Add a boost button that dumps maximum shove for 10 seconds, and suddenly your practical wagon has party tricks. Steel discs are 420 mm front and 400 mm rear, while ticking the optional carbon ceramic box brings 440 mm fronts and 410 mm rears with a claimed 30 kg (66 lbs) weight saving.
Huge Weight Increase
It could certainly use the help. The sedan tips the scales at 2,355 kg (5,190 lbs), while the Avant adds another 15 kg (33 lbs) for a total of 2,370 kg (5,225 lbs). Compare that with roughly 1,750 kg (3,860 lbs) for the old RS5 and you are staring at a hefty 605 kg (1,333 lbs) gain.
That makes it 200 kg (440 lbs) heavier than the V8-powered RS6 and 575 kg (1,268 lbs) more than a BMW M3. It is also just 91 kg (200 lbs) shy of the larger, much criticized BMW M5.
In fact, much like the M5, the RS5 sedan’s 2,355 kg (5,190 lbs) curb weight is greater than that of several Ford F-150 variants, including the V8-powered SuperCab 4×4 with the 6.5 ft bed, which weighs 2,245 kg (4,948 lbs). Does that sound like progress to you?
Visually, the new RS5 ramps up the aggression. The body is about 90 mm (3.54 inches) wider than the standard A5’s, there’s a darker face with a honeycomb grille, and the lighting gets checkered flag graphics in the signatures. Around back you get a diffuser with vertical fins and matte oval exhaust tips that look big enough to rent out as studio apartments.
It certainly looks the part, but will all that extra flab spoil the driving experience? We’ll have to wait until later this year to find out.
