New Audi RS 5 here November

Audi’s new RS 5 Coupe will become available in Australia in November, priced from under $160,000.

That puts the second-generation RS 5 in line with its predecessor — more than 13,000 of which were sold globally since 2010, including 490 Down Under — and between key rivals including the BMW M4 (from $149,900) and Mercedes-AMG C 63 S (from $162,115).

It will also make Audi’s mid-size RS coupe up to $54,000 pricier than the S5 Coupe (from $105,800) on which it’s based, but significantly cheaper than the old RS 5 Coupe’s original launch price of more than $175K.

Once again, however, Audi’s newest ‘gran turismo’, which will be followed by RS versions of the latest A4 sedan, new A5 Sportback and upcoming A5 Cabriolet, will come here with a range of standard features that are optional in Germany.

These include RS suspension with Dynamic Ride Control two-mode damping, quattro sports rear differential, RS sports exhaust, 20-inch wheels, LED headlights, digital radio and Audi’s Virtual Cockpit digital instrument array – in RS guise with power, torque, g-force and gearshift meters.

Among other preliminary local specs revealed at the global launch in France last week, Australian options will include 400mm ceramic front brake rotors with six-piston callipers and, for the first time, a 3kg-lighter carbon-fibre roof.

The first RS 5 was last sold here in mid-2016 and, previously, ceramic brakes were a $15,000-plus option and 20-inch wheels cost almost $4000 extra. Previously a $6500 option, RS front bucket seats are also now standard, as is a three-spoke flat-bottom multi-function RS steering wheel.

New metallic exterior paint colours include Misano Red, Nardo Grey (from the RS 6) and the exclusive Sonoma Green.

Other options in Europe will include dynamic steering, RS design package with colour-coded seat stitching, seat belts and floor mats, RS dynamic package with 280km/h top speed, Matrix LED headlights, Nappa leather upholstery, Alcantara steering wheel, shifter and knee pad trim, MMI navigation plus with MMI touch, head-up display and a 755-Watt 19-speaker Bang & Olufsen 3D sound system.

Standard features include three-mode electronic stability control, adaptive cruise control with stop&go function including traffic jam assist, park assist, cross traffic assist rear, exit warning, turn assist, camera-based traffic sign recognition, Audi pre sense city (AEB) and Audi smartphone interface.

First revealed at the Geneva motor show in March and now on sale in Europe, the new four-seat super-coupe is the first RS model based on Audi’s latest ‘MLB evo’ platform, which underpins the current A4, A5, Q5 and Q7.

As such, it weighs 60kg less at 1655kg, rides on a 15mm-longer (2766mm) wheelbase, features five-link independent front and rear suspension and consumes more than 3L/100km less fuel at 8.7/100km. The European CO2 emissions figure is 197g/km.

The latter is partly thanks to a new Audi-developed 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 based on Porsche’s latest 4.0-litre biturbo V8, which produces the same 331kW of power as the old model’s 4.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8 (this time at 5700 rather than 8000rpm) and 600Nm of torque over 1900-5000rpm – instead of 430Nm over 4000-6000rpm.

This time matched with an eight-speed automatic transmission instead of a seven-speed dual-clutch auto, the result is claimed 0-100km/h in just 3.9 seconds, making it 0.6sec quicker than the old RS 5, two-tenths quicker than the turbo-six M4 auto (and Porsche’s 911 Carrera S) and just as quick as the V8-powered C 63 S Coupe.

Quattro all-wheel drive continues to be standard and unique in class, featuring a self-locking centre diff and 40/60 per cent front/rear default torque split.

While Europe’s standard 19-inch forged wheels come with 265/35-section tyres, Australia’s standard 20s will be wrapped in 275/30s – all stopped by RS steel brakes with perforated composite discs measuring 375mm up front and 330mm at the rear, clamped by black six-piston callipers (red is optional).

Incorporating 15mm-wider front and rear wheel-arches than the A5 Coupe and wearing an aggressive new front-end design inspired by the Audi 90 quattro IMSA GTO racer, the new RS 5 is 1mm wider than before at 1861mm, 6mm lower at 1360mm and 74mm longer at 4723mm.

Key exterior design features include huge front air inlets and a wider, flatter singleframe grille with honeycomb inserts, RS-specific rear diffuser insert, twin oval-shaped exhaust outlets and unique RS side skirts and bootlid spoiler.

Boot space increases by 10 litres to a class-leading 465 litres and is augmented by a 40/20/40-split folding rear seatback and automatic tailgate (with optional kick-motion sensor).