Audi’s brutal 412 kW, 4.0-litre V8 TFSI engine has found an equally brutal new home in the recently unwrapped Audi RS7 Sportback and it has landed at JIMS 2013. Best get your orders in quickly because there is already a 12-month waiting list in Europe and the U.S. Visually, the RS7 Sportback gains a honeycomb front grille treatment, two large oval tailpipes (a classic RS model tell tail) and chunkier side skirts. The executive express then comes with standard 20-inch or optional 21-inch alloy wheels.
The central air intake sports a big, brash Quattro badge. Beneath the pebble-rounded bonnet, the RS7 Sportback thrums out an impressive 412 kW and 700 Nm of torque. Unlike the normally aspirated V8 in some previous Audi RS models, the power and torque of the twin-turbo engine is now available consistently between 1 750 and 5 500 rpm. The engine is connected to a standard eight-speed tiptronic and the brand’s Quattro, permanent all-wheel drive of course.
The fuel economy has improved markedly for the Audi RS moniker, with the downsizing from a 5.2-litre V10 (in the previous RS6) to the current 4.0-litre V8. Audi says it returns an average consumption across both cycles of 9.8 L/100 km. This is possible in some part to the V8 TFSI featuring a cylinder on demand (COD) system, which at low to medium loads and engine speeds, can deactivate half the cylinders to improve fuel economy.
A specially tuned air suspension lowers the body by 20 mm and which features adaptive damping, with a sport suspension featuring steel springs, three-stage adjustable dampers and dynamic ride control (DRC). Stopping power is provided by 390 mm brakes discs, while 420 mm carbon-ceramic discs (designated by anthracite gray calipers no less) are offered as an option.
Throw in torque vectoring for the Quattro drivetrain, a self-locking centre-differential, adaptive air suspension, three-way adjustable dampers and you have a cocktail for brutal all-grip, all-the-time, Autobahn thumping performance. The interior of the RS7 Sportback is beefed up with a flat-bottom sports steering wheel, carbon inlays, body hugging sport seats, illuminated door entry sills and revised instrument panel graphics.
The new Audi RS7 Sportback will arrive in the South Africa in January and pricing and specifications will be announced closer to the time, but you can expect prices to start the right side of its German competitors.
