Despite the market retreating from electrified sports cars en masse, Audi is charging (pun unintended) head-on with the new RS5, the de facto successor to the RS4. With the name change comes a new plug-in hybrid powertrain, offering a significant boost in power to counter the inevitable weight gain.
For the first time since the B7 RS4 (well, unless you count the previous RS5 Sportback), the car is available in sedan form as well, joining the usual Avant wagon. Both are powered by a revamped 2.9 litre twin-turbo V6, itself making 510 PS and 600 Nm of torque – an increase of 60 PS over the old RS4.
Revisions include optimised turbo piping for better response, higher-pressure injectors and new water-to-air intercoolers, while the use of an Atkinson cycle improves efficiency under partial load. Audi claims the new engine uses up to 20% less fuel under high loads.
The big news here is the electric motor with a more efficient external rotor design, sandwiched between the six-pot and the eight-speed auto; this adds 177 PS and 460 Nm of torque to the mix. Total system output is rated at an astonishing 639 PS and 825 Nm, with the 25.9 kWh battery (which features an improved chemistry to output more power at a low state of charge) delivers a WLTP-rated pure EV range of 84 km. Charging the battery up using a 11 kW AC wallbox – no DC option here – takes 2.5 hours.
You can probably sense a “but” here, can’t you? As we saw with the G90 BMW M5, all these electrical gubbins add a huge amount of weight. Both the sedan and Avant are at the wrong side of two tonnes, weighing 2,355 and 2,370 kg respectively.
As a result, even with a nearly 200 PS bump, the cars get from zero to 100 km/h just half a second quicker than the outgoing RS4 at 3.6 seconds (to say nothing of the old RS5 Sportback, which only took three tenths of a second longer). Full performance is available for up to ten seconds by pressing the Boost button, even in EV mode. Top speed is rated at 285 km/h with the optional Audi Sport package fitted.
To make sure the increased heft does not come at the expense of agility, the RS5’s standard quattro all-wheel drive system comes with a new self-locking central differential (enabling a variable torque split of between 70:30 to 15:85 front-to-rear) and what is claimed to be the world’s first electromechanical torque vectoring rear differential.
The latter uses an 11 PS/40 Nm electric motor and a set of overdrive gears to shuffle torque to each rear wheel, reacting in just 15 milliseconds. Unlike with a mechanical setup, this system also functions under braking, decelerating the outer rear wheel to stabilise the car on turn-in. Because of the high energy demand of the rear motor, the PHEV system keeps the battery at 90% in RS sport and RS torque rear modes.
Beyond that, the RS5 is suspended on a five-link setup front and rear. The front suspension gains new joints, links and rubber bushings to increase agility, while the rear axle has been completely redesigned to accommodate the trick rear differential, featuring improved elastokinematics to ensure a consistent tyre contact patch. You also get RS sport adaptive dampers with new twin-valve technology to independently control compression and rebound damping.
There’s brake-by-wire that primarily uses recuperative braking, too, with friction braking being handled by standard steel discs. Carbon ceramic brakes measuring 440 mm at the front are available as an option, differentiated using bronze brake callipers; in a segment-first, the rear brakes are also carbon ceramic.
You’ll be able to spot an RS5 from a mile away thanks to its heavily flared fenders, widening the body by a massive nine millimetres on both ends. This is paired with a purposeful front end with a large honeycomb “singleframe” grille, flanked by large intakes on either side and air curtain inlets formed by large vertical blades. On the sedan, the boot lid gets a split lip spoiler.
The serious demeanour of the design is spoilt somewhat by the massive oval bazookas that form the rear tailpipes, giving the RS5 an almost cartoonish look. These fill up the huge diffuser, split by a centre reflector that brings to mind the rain lights of Audi’s race cars. Completing the look are RS specific chequered-flag graphics for the matrix LED headlights and OLED taillights, along with either 20-inch Y-spoke or 21-inch forged alloy wheels.
Inside, the RS5 continues to feature the MMI Panorama display, made up of a 11.9-inch Audi virtual cockpit and a 14.5-inch infotainment touchscreen set on a single curved OLED panel, as well as a standard-fit 10.9-inch passenger display. The RS-specific touches include a Nappa leather-wrapped flat-bottomed steering wheel with contrasting 12 o’clock marker and RS and Boost buttons, sports seats plus with illuminated RS logos, bespoke virtual cockpit displays, and an Audi driving experience function for performance telemetry.
