2005 Audi RS 4

Audi RS 4 combines the latest high-performance motoring qualities offered by quattro GmbH in a thoroughbred sports saloon with supreme everyday driving qualities in the premium segment.A top-of-the-range model in the A4 series. Numerous technical achievements – many of which hail from motorsport – give the new Audi RS-4 its unique class and character. These features include the high engine speed concept now being introduced for the first time in a production Audi, innovative FSI technology, as well as the latest generation of quattro drive with asymmetric/dynamic distribution of torque. Developing a maximum output of 420 bhp, the V8 revs up to a speed of 8250 rpm. With its displacement of 4163 cc, this engine exceeds the magical barrier of 100 bhp per litre - truly outstanding in a production saloon. Maximum torque of 317 lb-ft comes at 5500 rpm in this very compact engine, with 90 per cent of the engine's torque consistently available between 2250 and 7600 rpm.

Audi has chosen its trendsetting and groundbreaking FSI technology for the RS 4 saloon, direct gasoline injection ensuring even more effective combustion of the fuel/air mixture and, as a result, an even better power yield. This is matched by the highly responsive development of power, the RS 4 accelerating to 62 mph in 4.8 seconds and reaching 125 mph in 16.6 seconds. Top speed is cut off electronically at 155 mph.

Now the latest generation of Audi's permanent four-wheel drive featured for the first time in the RS 4 offers asymmetric/dynamic torque distribution and a self-locking Torsen centre differential, making a significant contribution in enabling the RS 4 with its sports suspension to enter new dimensions in driving dynamics. Indeed, Audi quattro technology still provides traction when other drive concepts have long reached their limits. And in this case quattro drive is further enhanced by Audi's DRC Dynamic Ride Control, significantly reducing both body roll and dive. The brakes also enter new dimensions, an 18-inch brake system ensuring optimum stopping power. The cross-drilled, inner-vented brake discs at the front measure 365 millimeters in diameter, as opposed to 324-millimetre brake discs at the rear. Flow-optimized ventilation geometry incorporating Naca jets on the underfloor of the car ensures first-class cooling of the brakes under all conditions.

The single-frame radiator grille, the rear section with the distinctly horizontal orientation of the car's lines, and the side surfaces with the shoulder line plastically filling in the car's contours, all prove for a member of the A4 family. However, the radiator grille in diamond look, the additional air intake scoops in the front section, as well as the wheels set aside from a A4. The rear air dam encompassing two extra-large tailpipes as well as the discreet but highly effective spoiler integrated in the luggage compartment lid and the rear side panels all bear clear testimony to the saloon's dynamic driving potential also in terms of their looks. Compared with the Audi A4, the entire body of the car has been lowered by 30 millimeters.

Inside, the RS4 combines the straightforward functions of sports cars with the luxurious ambience so typical of all Audi models. The dominating materials are leather, aluminium, and carbon. But at the same time the RS 4 comes with all the additional qualities so typical of a genuine sports car. The RS bucket seats with their high side sections provide excellent support. The sports steering wheel tapering down at the bottom and the engine starter button on the centre console, in turn, are also clearly reminiscent of motorsport, just like the aluminium pedals. You start the engine of the Audi RS 4 by pressing the starter button housed conveniently in the centre console right next to the driver. Pressing the sports button in the steering wheel, in turn, the driver is able to modify the gas pedal control map, giving the engine even sharper and more direct response.