Audi replaces RS4 with new plug-in 639hp RS5

Audi has once again got itself into a right pickle over the way it names its cars. A few years ago, it announced that odd-numbered cars would be combustion-powered while those with even numbers would be electric. Nobody liked or understood it, so Audi went back to its old naming strategy early last year and blithely hoped that would be the end of it. The damage, however, had already been done and now the saloon formerly known as the A4 is now called the A5. With that in mind, Audi’s just taken the wraps off its new RS5, now the direct successor to the RS4.

That may be clear as mud, but the end result is something we’re all very familiar with. Wide arches, oval exhausts and your choice of saloon or Avant body styles. Audi’s kept the not-RS4 V6 power, too, which is crucial when you consider how contentious the launch of the electrified, four-cylinder Mercedes-AMG C 63 was, and it means it’s packing just as many pistons as the now-six-year-old G80 BMW M3, albeit with a 129hp difference in the RS5’s favour. So while Audi hasn’t nailed the naming of its RS5, it looks to have timed its arrival to a tee.

You’ll have your own opinion on how it looks, but it certainly won’t be as divisive as the snout on the M3. Having seen it in the metal, the RS5 isn’t exactly short on presence. It’s epically wide, with those wheel arches adding 40mm either side(!) front and rear, while new front and rear bumpers contain a ginormous single-mould grille and moulded diffuser respectively. Admittedly, it looks almost cartoonishly swollen in pictures, which isn’t helped by the twin 70mm oval exhausts being housed closer together in the rear diffuser, making it appear even wider from the rear. Yet in person, it looks just as squat as a blistered-arched RS should. 

Adding to the visual theatre are a pair of vanes in the front bumper to channel air around the front wheels, while vents integrated into the wings appear to have come straight from the RS6 GT and are functional, too. Deeper skirts connect the wider arches, which, like the grille and diffuser, are highlighted gloss black as standard. You can, however, have them finished in ‘carbon camouflage’, Audi’s take on Lamborghini’s forged composites, where fibres are chopped and set in resin. And you’ll be wanting to save weight wherever you can, because the saloon and Avant tip the scales at 2.35 and 2.37 tonnes respectively. Staggeringly, that’s well over half a tonne more than the old car, a good chunk of which lurks beneath the boot floor.

That’s right, the RS5 is a plug-in hybrid. It’s the first time Audi Sport has adopted piston and electric power, with a 177hp electric motor integrated into the eight-speed automatic gearbox fed by a 22kW (that’s usable capacity) battery located below the boot. Being a plug-in means you’ll be able to hook it up to a charger at home, with a full battery netting you up to 54 miles of electric-only driving, and Audi claims up to 20 per cent less fuel use “under high loads” when it’s working in conjunction with the combustion engine.

Oh, and a massive combined output to go along with it. Paired with the 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 up front, the RS5 delivers a stonking 639hp – a leap of 189hp over the previous (non-hybrid) RS4 – and 624lb ft of torque. That translates to a 0-62mph time of 3.6 seconds, half a second faster than the RS4 (although only three tenths ahead of the Competition), while the optional Audi Sport package lifts the top speed to 177mph and brings a sports exhaust among some jazzier visual upgrades. 

Now, while the 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 may sound familiar, it’s been extensively reworked with roughly 60 per cent of components being new. Among them are new water-cooled intercoolers, another RS first, plus variable geometry turbos, a revised air intake and an upgraded fuel system with higher injection pressure. So if you find yourself without any battery power, you’d be left with 510hp from the combustion engine alone, which is still a good 60hp more than the old RS4. Amusingly, when said scenario was put to some Audi engineers, they found it unimaginable as you’d either a) charge up at home or b) charge up on the go. Little do they know how negligent British PHEV owners can be. Anyhoo, the upshot is that as long as you’ve got charge in the battery, you’re getting the full 639hp. Lovely.

That’s not all, because below the battery sits another electric motor, though this one’s responsible for handling the new electromechanical torque vectoring system. It’s an ‘invisible maestro conducting an orchestra of driving fun and safety’, says Audi, comprising an 8hp motor that works in tandem with a conventional differential to distribute torque in between the two rear wheels in just 15 milliseconds. Additionally, there’s a limited-slip differential connected to the transmission, which helps manage torque front and rear. It’s set by default at a 70/30 split, but activating RS torque rear mode sends up to 85 per cent of torque to the back axle for a more playful rear end.

Then there’s the suspension, with twin-valve dampers on each corner that can modulate compression and rebound independently, and can of course be adjusted to your liking through the different driving modes. Meanwhile, there’s a faster steering rack with a 13:1 ratio that, alongside Audi’s new trick dampers, ought to help disguise the RS5’s immense weight. All that heft is brought to a stop by 420mm and 400mm discs at the front and rear, respectively, which are controlled using brake-by-wire, while optional ceramics up the diameter to 440mm front and 410mm at the back. In front of them sit 20-inch wheels as standard, with 21-inch rims and stickier Pirelli P Zero R tyres bundled in with the aforementioned Audi Sport package.  

Step inside and you’ll be greeted by deeply bolstered sports seats trimmed in Audi Sport’s usual honeycomb stitching, plus a sportier steering wheel that is flat both top and bottom. Interestingly, the paddle shifters can be used to adjust the regenerative braking when running purely on battery power, which can be activated using the A5’s giant 14.5-inch infotainment screen. You’ll also find your telemetry in there, which can log lap times and many other metrics on pre-programmed circuits. And if a circuit isn’t on the system, you can create your own as a custom layout. Just think of the possibilities. 

Audi boss Gernot Döllner said: “the A5 model series’ new pinnacle is our first high-performance plug-in hybrid. Our newly developed quattro drivetrain with Dynamic Torque Control is the world’s first electro-mechanical torque vectoring system in a production car. The sophisticated technical interplay between combustion engine and electric power brings performance and efficiency together in a new way at Audi. Customers can experience both peak sportiness and everyday comfort.”

So the RS5 is wider and faster than ever, and a good chunk more expensive too. Prices start at £89,400 for the saloon and £91,300 for the Avant, and you can expect the Audi Sport package and all its chopped carbon trim to add a decent amount on top of that. Knowing that the old RS4 started at around £65,000 doesn’t make those numbers any easier to swallow, but that was almost a decade ago. Everything’s moved on, with an M3 Competition Touring costing £93,585 and a Mercedes C 63 priced at £100,935 (though the latter is set to be axed). The RS5 is right in the mix, then, with orders set to kick off in the summer. Hard to imagine Audi will have any trouble filling the books…