New Audi A5 models: blown RS5 and Sportback shooting brake

Newswheel staff :: 15 May 2007 :: Filed under Cabriolet, Coupe, Hatchback, Audi, Audi A5, Europe & UK, US

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BMW 3 Series beware

The A5 and S5 coupes were just the beginning, folks. According to reports, Audi is tooling up to release a wide range of variants based on its new coupe, including an inevitable uber-hot RS5, a cabriolet and an intriguing shooting brake concoction…

First up is the RS5, powered predictably by the rather fine 4.2-litre V8 fitted to the RS4. However, Audi has apparently decided crank up the RS5 a notch or two courtesy of a pair of compact low inertia turbos.

Car Magazine suggests the modifications will be good for a power output of 450bhp while reports elsewhere point towards a figure nearer 500bhp. Whatever, odds are the RS5 will have the measure of BMW’s new M3 in a straight line, even if the pair of mini blowers is hardly very sporting in the context of the BM’s naturally aspirated V8.

Quattro, of course

Moreover, add in the obligatory Quattro drivetrain and you have a recipe for some pretty nippy standing-start performance numbers. 60mph in well under five seconds looks likely.

As for sticker prices, expect the RS5 to break the £50,000 barrier, much like the latest M3.

And if the addition of a cabriolet model is par for the course, the Sportback variant is anything but. Until we’ve seen pictures, it’s hard to know exactly what to expect, but the basics include the following superficially incompatible ingredients: four doors, rear hatch and a sleek coupe-like profile.

Tech-spec wise, the Sportback is rumoured to be the first Audi to offer the company’s new Quattro Torque Vectoring (QTV) system. Think active electromagnetic clutches capable of balance torque both across each axle and front to rear.

There’s no word as yet on a likely launch date or pricing for the Sportback.

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