Audi RS5 Official Details Announced

Audi has released the official details of the RS5 following the leak of a sales brochure over the weekend. Ready to make its debut appearance at the Geneva Motor Show, the BMW M3 Coupe-rival would cost from around 77,700 euros (RM 360,117 without taxes), with sales starting in Germany from the second quarter of 2010.

At the heart of RS5 lies a reworked 4.2-litre V8 borrowed from the R8. Mated to the seven-speed dual-clutch S-tronic gearbox, it churns out 444 bhp at 8250 rpm and 430 Nm at 4000 rpm—figures powerful enough to propel the 1725 kg coupe from 0-100 km/h in 4.6 seconds, and on to a top speed of an electronically-limited 250 km/h, or 280 km/h if you ask Audi to remove the limiter as part of a special order.

The four-wheel drive system is accompanied by a new crown-gear center differential that allocates up to 70 percent of the torque to the front or up to 85 percent to the rear. The default is 40:60 front/rear. Other performance enhancements include a revised braking system, an altered electronic stability program, and a recalibrated speed-dependent steering system.

Sitting 20 mm lower than the A5, RS5 predictably wears an aggressive body kit with 19-inch five-spoke alloy wheels, front splitter with large air intakes, twin oval exhaust pipes and retractable spoiler. Inside, a sports steering wheel and leather/Alcantara sports seats are standard, along with an aluminium trim highlighted by carbon-fibre inlays and piano black accents.