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SWEET TORQUER

Audi really has hit the right note with this exhilarating beauty. Instantaneously we know that there’s a connection, an excitement too addictive to resist.

It seems as though BMW’s M3 is under fire, Audi certainly won’t let it escape our attention that their RS4 has a hearty 4.2litre V8 engine that knows just how to deliver the goods. To add more fuel to flames, ninety per cent of this torque is available right from 2250rpm and keeps on turning up the heat right until 7,600rpm. Reaching a climax of 317lb ft at a spirited 5500rpm, it clearly lives up to its RS branding. This is backed up by a maximum of 414bhp which is delivered to those meaty 19” alloys when the revs reach a raucous 7800rpm. The RS4’s 4 wheel-drive system grounds all this power well, favouring 60% of its delivery to the rear axel and upping it to 85% in the event of understeer. Acceleration is another key attribute; a claimed 0-62mph time of 4.8 seconds gives us some warning to go a little easy on the throttle until we’ve adjusted ourselves to the G’s. Even more eye-popping though is its 0-124mph time of only 16.6 seconds, which may be pretty handy when joining a slip road or performing a swift overtaking manoeuvre. Take it to a track and you’ll have an even better understanding of the respect it hails.

Dynamically, it blasts out of corners like a bull to red rag, using all that low end torque as its source of ammunition. Try a little tenderness and you’re firmly in the saddle, allowing the front end to grip before enticing round the tail in a controlled slide. The steering is reassuringly obedient, light and quick to respond. It has a stable set up and is supported by the strict management of Audi’s Dynamic Ride Control or DRC as they term it. It also has remarkable restraint for a car with this much raw power. The brakes feature 365mm front discs that are clasped in the grip of eight-piston four-pad callipers so as well as laying on the fun it can cool it in an instant.

The interior is both sporty and chic with winged Recaro seats, a flat bottom steering wheel, tidy functional dash and a racy short shift gearbox. The built quality is also of a very high standard and the style, well just wait until you see it in the metal this January when it reaches UK shores. Mesmerising is an under statement and it’s got £49,980 price tag to prove it.

Essentially the RS4 is a honey trap just waiting for a companion to collude with. But once strapped inside will you actually know where humanity ends and machine begins? Just try and walk away and you’ll realise your dangling on the end of its hook.

Verdict

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Spec

ENGINE: V8, 4163cc, 32v, direct injection
POWER: 414bhp @ 7200rpm
TORQUE (lb/ft): 317lb ft @ 5500 rpm
0-60mph (sec): 4.8sec (claimed)
TOP SPEED: 155mph (limited)
PRICE: £49,980