Review of the new Audi RS5

In March 1980, a car was unveiled that would shape the future of a company, ultimately propelling it to the pinnacle of the prestige car market. The Audi Quattro grew into an icon and was instrumental in giving its manufacturer the impetus for a dramatic growth spurt of its own. 30 years on, at the 2010 edition of the same Geneva Motorshow that launched the Quattro, pride of place was assigned to the RS5. Nobody would claim that this car could have anything approaching the same impact but there's definite symmetry here. We're dealing with another two-door Audi coupe with breathtaking performance, bags of attitude and, unavoidably, four-wheel-drive.

Developed by its performance engineering subsidiary, quattro GmbH, Audi's RS models are highly specialised versions of its mainstream production cars. In this case, the RS5 is based on the A5 coupe. The RS badge can be traced back to the RS 2 Avant which was developed in partnership with Porsche and sold in the mid-1990s but for a while after that, the ultimate performance Audis failed to hit the same heights. That changed with the RS4 of 2006, a genuine BMW M3 challenger, and the mind-boggling power of the 2008 RS6. Can the RS5 take things to the next level?

Audi has been turning more and more to turbocharged powerplants in its faster cars but the RS5 sticks with good old cubic capacity. Mounted at the front of its quattro all-wheel-drive chassis is a 4.2-litre V8 incorporating technology from the V10 FSI unit in the R8 supercar. The peak power output of 444bhp is achieved at the engine's 8,250rpm maximum and 430Nm of torque is on stream between 4,000 and 6,000rpm. Against the clock, the RS5 will blast to 62mph in 4.6s and would comfortably exceed 155mph were the artificial limiter ever to doze off on the job.

".the RS5 is a car with its sights set high"

S-tronic dual clutch gearbox technology is rapidly becoming as commonplace as quattro all-wheel-drive across Audi's various model lines and the fact that it's fitted to the RS5 underlines the faith the manufacturer has in it. This particular unit is a seven-speed transmission specially strengthened to cope in the company of the RS5's formidable engine. With two clutches working on different sets of gears, the technology is able to pre-engage the gear it thinks will be selected next. This makes for lightening fast shifting via the wheel-mounted paddles or by nudging the gear lever. There are Automatic, Comfort and Dynamic modes to choose from when the doing the shifting for you and a launch control setting which will get you close to optimum acceleration off the line.

The standard Audi A5 is a beautiful and understated car but whether you could pay either complement to the RS5 is open to debate. Understated it certainly isn't. Aggressive air intakes and a matt aluminium splitter mark out the front end, the wheelarches bulge imposingly and at the rear are two of the largest exhausts you'll have ever seen mounted either side of a large diffuser. There's a spoiler in the tailgate that extends at 75mph, tucking itself away again when you drop below 50mph, so even if you aren't breaking the speed limit, the police will know that you have been.

The cabin is based around the black leather and exposed carbon fibre theme we've seen before on RS models. In addition to features found on other A5s, there's an oil temperature gauge and a timer for track use. Electrically adjustable super sports seats with pronounced side sections and integrated head restraints are standard, as of course are comforts such as a 180-watt CD sound system, deluxe three-zone climate control, the Audi Parking System Plus with front and rear sensors, tyre pressure monitoring and an RS multi-function steering wheel with aluminium-look gearshift paddles.

To say the RS5 chassis is merely advanced would be to do it a disservice. The car features the latest quattro all-wheel-drive technology with a crown-gear centre differential and Audi's sport differential between the rear wheels. Under normal conditions, power is distributed 40:60 between the front and rear wheels but the crown-gear differential can automatically send as much as 70% forward or 80% rearward as the situation dictates. The sport differential then distributes power between the two rear wheels to further enhance stability and traction.

The Dynamic Ride Control interlinks each of the car's shock absorbers with its counterpart on the opposite corner of the vehicle via a central valve and is calibrated to provide extra damping force when required. The driver can select Comfort, Dynamic and Sport modes according to the firmness of the damping required. The car rides 20mm lower than a standard A5 on its 19" alloy wheels.

When Audi launched the Quattro in 1980, it had just two model lines. Today, it's well into double figures and expanding with 'quattro' all-wheel-drive technology present in every range. It's also viewed as a serious rival to the prestige car market kingpins BMW and Mercedes-Benz with the burning ambition to surpass them. Cars like the RS5 are crucial to this, not because they're going to generate huge sales or profits but because they generate interest. By being seen to take the BMW M3 and the Mercedes C63 AMG down a peg or two, the RS5 can enhance the profile of the A5 coupe and A4 saloon models which actually bring home the bacon.

The work Audi did on the exhaust system and the aerodynamics of the RS5 to enhance its performance also helped improve its fuel economy. In addition, car's entire drive train has been designed to minimise friction losses and a brake energy recovery system is installed. An RS5 still isn't going to be cheap to run but the official combined economy of 26mpg could have been worse.

That Audi means business with its RS5 is beyond dispute. The car comes laden with advanced technology to help the driver get the most from its blistering performance and sporting a pricetag substantially higher than rivals from BMW and Mercedes. Arriving 30 years after the original Audi Quattro, the RS5 would do well to be remembered half as fondly but if the intention was to shake things up in the performance coupe world, its success looks guaranteed.

Packing the latest quattro all-wheel-drive system, the S tronic dual-clutch gearbox, Dynamic Ride Control suspension and all manner of other high-tech features, the RS5 is a car with its sights set high.