By
EWAN KENNEDY
8 May 2006
Can a car be too good? This question occurred to us several times
during our initial test drive of the new Audi RS4. Sitting at the
pinnacle of the Audi A4 sports lineup up, which also consists of the A4
S-Line and the S4, the RS4 bridges the gap between a conventional road
car and a racing machine.
On the road it’s so good as to be
almost frustrating to drive at times. No matter how hard you go,
commonsense dictates that the RS4 is travelling at speeds well below its
limits. Not that it’s hard to drive on the road, on the contrary
it’s as docile as a kitten in normal use, it’s just that you really
don’t get the best from it in Australia due to our over-harsh speed
restrictions.
So we took it to a race track as well.
Calder Park near Melbourne to be precise. There we sampled it not only
on the famed Thunderdome speed bowl, but also on the road circuit where
we pushed the powerful Audi as close to the limits as our nerves would
let us, and really came to appreciate the superb engineering that has
gone into this sporting machine.
There's a button marked ‘S’ (for
sports) on the steering wheel and this not only firms up the variable
suspension damping, but also lets the engine run with less exhaust
restriction and therefore more power. Not to forget changing the exhaust
and induction notes so that they instantly brought huge grins to our
faces. This truly is a racing car in civilian clothes.
Under the bonnet of the Audi RS4 sits a
further development of the 4.2-litre V8 engine we have tested and
reported on in admiration several times before. In RS4 format it’s set
to rev all the way to 8250 rpm, that’s a big number for a V8 of this
size. Peak power is an astronomical 420 horsepower, thus breaking
through the magic mental barrier of 100 brake horsepower per litre of
engine capacity. (Performance car guys only talk horsepower, the engine
produces 309 kW.)
Despite being willing to rev so hard,
modern electronics mean the engine is tractable from as low as 1500 rpm
and really comes on strongly from as little as 2500 revs.
Power is transferred to all four wheels
by way of the latest iteration of Audi's famed quattro all-wheel-drive
system. Electronic traction control also assists in keeping the RS4 safe
under all sane driving conditions. It can be fully switched off for
track work.
Suspension has been lowered by a
significant 30 millimetres to pull down the centre of gravity and
decrease the amount of body roll in hard cornering.
Brakes are huge discs at all four corners
and the high-speed engine ability of this Audi is exceeded by the
braking system by quite a margin.
There's a body kit to differentiate the
RS4 from its lesser brothers. Other than cooling ducts built into the
corners of the front bumpers, this is a relatively subtle body makeover.
Though the radiator grille looks similar to the other ‘single-frame’
Audis, it has a design that’s unique to this car. An interesting
option is the ability to have the frame of the grille blacked out to
give a somewhat menacing look.
There are flared guards to cover the
large 19-inch alloy wheels, side skirts, a rear diffuser and a small but
effective rear wing.
Of course, this isn’t a racing car in
normal use. So Audi has given the cabin a luxury look with sporting
touches. Chief amongst these are Recaro seats that support beautifully
(a word of warning, though, if your backside’s shape has got out of
control in recent years make sure you try the seats for size!)
There's also a lovely alloy finish to the
dash and the RS4 comes with satellite navigation, television, a quality
Bose multi-CD sound system with 10 speakers, dual air conditioning with
a pollen filter, and cruise control.
If you are seriously thinking of buying
one of these powerful Audi RS4s, and its price tag of $164,500 is indeed
a serious number, then do yourself a favour and join a car club or find
some other way of enjoying it to the full at track days.
Pushing a car like this to its outer
limits under controlled conditions is the only way to justify owning it,
you certainly won’t be sorry when you do so.
