The all-new 2017 A5 and S5 models are decent luxury coupes. However, there's an RS5 coming, and it looks like a total brute, with its wide fenders, hunkered suspension and oversized exhausts.
While this test prototype is still covered in camouflage, it reveals lots of new details. This is, in fact, the first time we've been able to look at a full production model, complete with the right body kit.
The RS series of cars is the most hardcore that Audi offers from the factory. However, most are designed to pulverize the road into submission, unlike their rivals, which feel most at home on the track The RS5 was one of the few exceptions, as it had relatively good steering feedback and a progressive naturally aspirated V8 engine shared with the old R8.
Did you hear the rumor about the downsized supercar? Well, the same applies to the RS5 as well. We're 99.9% sure it will use a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6, like the one found in the Porsche Panamera 4S.
What we're not sure of is the output. You see, rumors suggest it will have up to 500 horsepower. However, we suspect it will stop at 450 hp or lower. A power drop is what happened when the RS6 downsized from a V10 and when the S5 went from the 4.2 FSI to a supercharged V6.
If you know where to look, you can easily spot the design changes on this RS5 prototype over the S5 it's based on. You've got a couple of enlarged air intakes on either side of the lower bumper. And in the middle, a gaping grille that's set much deeper than the camouflage would lead you to believe.
What's interesting is that the RS5 has standard old-fashioned steel brakes. They don't even have that flower-like shape that you see on the RS3. That leads us to believe there will be lots of options or two different versions of the RS5 Coupe.
On a car like this, offering a carbon fiber aero kit, Titanium exhaust, and ceramic brakes makes perfect sense. The recently launched TT RS also suggests an abundance of configurable options will encourage you to spend money. You could have the whole cabin decked in carbon or painted the same color as the body.
According to our insider information, the RS4 wagon will be the first to come out, during next year's Frankfurt Motor Show. That gives us more than a year before the RS5 makes its debut, time which will mostly be spent on the track.
The RS series of cars is the most hardcore that Audi offers from the factory. However, most are designed to pulverize the road into submission, unlike their rivals, which feel most at home on the track The RS5 was one of the few exceptions, as it had relatively good steering feedback and a progressive naturally aspirated V8 engine shared with the old R8.
Did you hear the rumor about the downsized supercar? Well, the same applies to the RS5 as well. We're 99.9% sure it will use a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6, like the one found in the Porsche Panamera 4S.
What we're not sure of is the output. You see, rumors suggest it will have up to 500 horsepower. However, we suspect it will stop at 450 hp or lower. A power drop is what happened when the RS6 downsized from a V10 and when the S5 went from the 4.2 FSI to a supercharged V6.
If you know where to look, you can easily spot the design changes on this RS5 prototype over the S5 it's based on. You've got a couple of enlarged air intakes on either side of the lower bumper. And in the middle, a gaping grille that's set much deeper than the camouflage would lead you to believe.
What's interesting is that the RS5 has standard old-fashioned steel brakes. They don't even have that flower-like shape that you see on the RS3. That leads us to believe there will be lots of options or two different versions of the RS5 Coupe.
On a car like this, offering a carbon fiber aero kit, Titanium exhaust, and ceramic brakes makes perfect sense. The recently launched TT RS also suggests an abundance of configurable options will encourage you to spend money. You could have the whole cabin decked in carbon or painted the same color as the body.
According to our insider information, the RS4 wagon will be the first to come out, during next year's Frankfurt Motor Show. That gives us more than a year before the RS5 makes its debut, time which will mostly be spent on the track.