Heart on steroids
And to power this sport sedan, Quattro GmbH dropped an all-aluminum 4.2-liter V8 in the engine bay; it develops 420 horsepower and 319
pound-feet of torque, which represents about 115 hp per liter.
At the slightest solicitation, the car leaps forward. The V8 is coupled to an excellent 6-speed manual gearbox, the only one offered by the manufacturer. In my opinion, however, the best feature is combining all this with the latest generation of the Quattro system.
The power distribution reaches 60% at the rear and 40% in front, which gives the RS 4 a superb sporty balance and very little understeer. This full-time system includes an asymmetrically dynamic torque split and uses a Torsen centre differential.
Exceptional brakes
To stop such a machine, the engineers fitted it with oversize vented and cross-drilled discs: 14-inchers in front with 8-piston callipers, and 12.5 inches in back with 2-piston callipers. I can attest to their efficiency; in fact, twice during our testing, me and fellow journalist Sylvain Raymond avoided deers on the road thanks to the brakes' performance and the chassis' superb rigidity.
Comfortable interior
Like any sports car fit for this name, you sit comfortably, and lateral
support is very good. Controls fall easily in hand, but the armrest must be raised and nothing should be put in the cupholders, as they can get in the way. You have a choice of carbon fiber, aluminum or wood. The audio system is excellent, but you won't have time to listen to it. You can order a navigation system, and that's about it. What really impressed us is the comfort of the interior despite being on bad Quebec roads on which we tested the RS 4. It's a civilized sports car that few can boast being. It's one or the other.
Beast on the road and on the track
We had the opportunity to test this car on a variety of roads and surfaces; the RS 4 incredibly sticks to the road, tracks easily in curves and
accelerates in record time, especially in passing times. At any moment, I felt safe. I knew that the car would go where I wanted it to. It's the limits of the surface and road visibility that guided our driving. I would've liked to push the car on a track, but the driving experience that we had allowed us to bring the car to its limits, and ours. Let's talk performance: we blasted from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.5 and 5.8 seconds. I hate wasting a clutch to get an additional half-second. However, by using the 2nd and 3rd gears, I accelerated from 80 to 120 km/h in just 3.3 seconds, compared to 4.3 seconds while staying in 3rd. Top speed is factory-limited to 252 km/h.
And to power this sport sedan, Quattro GmbH dropped an all-aluminum 4.2-liter V8 in the engine bay; it develops 420 horsepower and 319
 |
| 2007 Audi RS 4 (Photo: Amyot Bachand) |
At the slightest solicitation, the car leaps forward. The V8 is coupled to an excellent 6-speed manual gearbox, the only one offered by the manufacturer. In my opinion, however, the best feature is combining all this with the latest generation of the Quattro system.
The power distribution reaches 60% at the rear and 40% in front, which gives the RS 4 a superb sporty balance and very little understeer. This full-time system includes an asymmetrically dynamic torque split and uses a Torsen centre differential.
Exceptional brakes
 |
| 2007 Audi RS 4 (Photo: Amyot Bachand) |
Comfortable interior
Like any sports car fit for this name, you sit comfortably, and lateral
 |
| 2007 Audi RS 4 (Photo: Amyot Bachand) |
Beast on the road and on the track
We had the opportunity to test this car on a variety of roads and surfaces; the RS 4 incredibly sticks to the road, tracks easily in curves and
 |
| 2007 Audi RS 4 (Photo: Amyot Bachand) |