Audi unsheathes M3 killer

Newswheel staff :: 27 February 2005 :: Filed under Four wheel drive, Saloon, Audi, Audi A4, Europe & UK, US,

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A stodge-free sporting Audi? Here's hoping

Don’t get too excited, it might be a false alarm. However, it looks like Audi has produced its first bone-fide driver’s car since the 80s Ur Quattro. The new RS4 has been unveiled, and on-paper it’s easily the most convincing attack yet on BMW’s M-division. 

Unlike other recent Audi RS models, the RS4 is no overweight, turboed-up barge. The firm has gone to much greater lengths to deliver both engine, and crucially, chassis improvements. The wider tacks (37mm and 47mm, front and rear respectively) and flared wheel arches are nothing unusual. But the fact that the front wings and bonnet are fashioned from aluminium, contributing to a creditable 10kg reduction (to 1,650kg) compared with the S4, speaks volumes about Audi’s new approach. 

A V8, naturally

Likewise, the decision to do it the hard way with a highly-tuned, naturally aspirated engine, rather than bolting on a pair of turbos is evidence of the effort that has gone into the new car. As for the power unit itself, it’s a 4.2-litre 90 degree V8 pumping out a rather more than adequate 414bhp and 317lb ft. Oh, and it revs to fully 8,250rpm (OK, now we really want one…). Hard to believe it, but the M3’s 340bhp six suddenly seems passé.  

Other hints that Audi could finally have cracked it take the form of a fully flat undertray and the 40:60, front and rear default torque split of the Quattro all-wheel drivetrain. A comprehensive, job in other words. 

Doubts and fears? Well, the engine is still slung out beyond the front axle, a design peculiarity that has ruined every performance Audi saloon and estate in recent years. Then there’s the styling. It would be awfully ironic if Audi finally managed to get a grip on chassis dynamics just as the firm’s previously peerless and understated design language is being unceremoniously defenestrated (yup, we don’t  much like the gaping grille and fussy swage line of the face-lift A4).

The RS4 is out towards the end of 2005, with likely pricing in the £50,000 / Eur80-90,000 range. No news yet on whether the car will make the trip stateside.