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Audi’s high-performance range will feature as the hero models at the 2006
Melbourne International Motor Show, with the company displaying its new RS4
supercar alongside the superlative new Audi S8.
While the Audi S8, due for local launch around October 2006, is a clear
demonstration of the brand’s ability to cleverly combine supreme luxury with
bullish performance thanks to its V10 5.2 FSI engine, the smaller, new RS4 is no
slouch as the top-of-the-range model in the A4 series.
New from the ground up the RS4 will be officially launched in Australia in
April 2006.
Remarkable not only for its awe-inspiring capabilities but also for its
saloon body shell – a first for this model - the new Audi RS 4 combines the
latest high-performance technologies offered by quattro GmbH, in a luxury,
thoroughbred saloon design that is perfectly suited to day-to-day driving.
Numerous technical achievements – many of which hail from motorsport – give
the new Audi RS 4 unique class and character.
The first ever B-segment RS saloon is the epitome of ‘Vorsprung durch
Technik’, featuring a high speed engine 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 4.2-litre V8 engine in the new RS
4 revs up to a speed of 8,250 rpm and exceeds the magical barrier of 100 bhp per
litre – a feature that is truly outstanding in a production saloon.
Maximum torque of 430 Nm comes at 5500 rpm in this very compact engine, with
90 per cent of the engine’s torque consistently available from 2,250 – 7,600
rpm. The result is excellent muscle and pulling force at all times, enabling the
driver whenever he – or she – wishes to drive in truly relaxed style without
frequent gear changes.
The RS 4 features racing technology in civilian clothes. While many of its
features look similar to the new Audi A4, the RS 4 is far more than just a
“fast” derivative of Audi’s highly successful midrange saloon.
The single-frame radiator grille, the rear section with the distinctly
horizontal orientation of the car’s lines, and the side surfaces with the
distinct shoulder line all prove that the RS 4 is a member of the A4 family.
However, the radiator grille in diamond look, the additional air intake scoops
in the front section, massive twin-exhaust pipes, suspension that is lowered by
30 mm, a wider front and rear track as well as the wheels developed specifically
for the RS 4, clearly set the car aside from a “normal” Audi A4.
Inside, the RS 4 combines the functionality of a sports car with the highest
level of luxury. The dominating materials are leather, aluminium, and carbon.
However the RS 4 is not just a car to be admired for its looks, at the same time
it comes with all the additional qualities of a genuine sports car.
The engine of the Audi RS 4 is started simply 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.
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, allowing the RS 4 to
accelerate to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds, reaching 200 km/h in 16.6 seconds.
The challenge, of course, was to get all of this power onto the road in
perfect style and with optimum handling. And for no less than 25 years, Audi’s
answer to all the particular requirements in this respect has been that magical
name “quattro”.
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.
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 millimetres in diameter, as opposed to 324-millimetre brake discs at
the rear. Flow-optimised ventilation geometry incorporating Naca jets on the
underfloor of the car ensures first-class cooling of the brakes under all
conditions. As a result, brake fading is significantly reduced even under
extreme loads, for example on the race track.
The new Audi RS 4 of course features a host of new technologies, myriad
design modifications tailored to suit such a thoroughbred sportscar and the very
highest level of equipment and safety, as you’d expect from Audi.
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