In terms of performance, the Avant and Cabriolet are closely matched
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| RS4 Cabrio features tamer, suede-lined seats from the S4. Note flat-bottomed steering wheel and new shift knob. (Photos: Audi Canada) |
to the Sedan in the 100 km/h sprint. The Sedan trips the stopwatch in 4.8 seconds; the Avant and Cabrio take 0.1 second more, showing the explosive, immediate power of the naturally aspirated engine despite the weight handicap. The gap starts to separate once the speed increases; 200 km/h takes a very brief 16.6 seconds in the sedan, but 16.9 seconds in the Avant and 17.5 seconds in the Cabriolet, the differences to do, no doubt with the added weight. If you're gunning for the outright fastest RS4, any will do as they're all electronically limited to 250 km/h.
The
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| Like these RS-Series Avants, the latest RS4 won't make the journey across the Atlantic. (Photos: Audi Canada) |
RS4 Cabriolet and Avant will start production later this spring, and will be in dealerships starting this summer. Unfortunately chances are slim to nil that North Americans will be receiving these alternate body types as there's little market case for the Avant. Aside from the fact that it carries on the Avant heritage for Audi, no other manufacturer currently builds a superwagon with compact dimensions. Audi couldn't bring itself to import the RS6 Avant, creating and building the RS6 Sedan to our market instead. Interestingly, the RS4 Cabriolet stands a better chance, as it could compete with the M3 Cabriolet and Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet.
