Audi RS5 Official Thread (its coming to America!)
04-07-10, 07:09 AM
#79
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Audi RS5 Confirmed for U.S. - Car News
Word from the CEO: RS returns!
BY JENS MEINERS, PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETER BURN AND THE MANUFACTURER
April 2010
Audi is engaging BMW in a thrilling fight over who can make the sportiest premium cars, and the RS models are an important cornerstone in this strategy. Targeting BMW's legendary M line, Audi's RS family currently includes the 340-hp TT RS with its turbocharged straight-five and the 580-hp RS6, which packs a twin-turbo V-10 into either a sedan or wagon body. But alas, no RS model is currently sold in the U.S., and the brand's utterly enjoyable S models are simply outgunned by the M models and the Mercedes-Benz AMG line.
With the RS5, the wait is finally over. Audi CEO Rupert Stadler tells us that the upcoming coupe, powered by a naturally aspirated, 450-hp V-8, is U.S.-bound. That's very good news not only for Audi aficionados, but for anyone shopping in this segment. The RS5's most direct competitors will be the two-door versions of the 414-hp BMW M3 and the 556-hp Cadillac CTS-V, both bringing rear-wheel drive against the Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system. Mercedes-Benz is abandoning the segment, with no planned AMG version of its new C-class-based but E-class-badged coupe. Interestingly, Audi is sticking to its extremely high-revving engine, an evolution of the former RS4 and current R8 unit, while BMW M and Mercedes-AMG are on the verge of switching to turbocharged engines.
For a while, it seemed like the RS models wouldn't return to the U.S. market. We were told that costly certification requirements and a limited market made it difficult to justify a business case. While that may have been so, some of the most loyal Audi customers were left without a suitable in-house replacement for their beloved RS6s or RS4s, the previous generations of which were sold here. The absence of RS models in a market niche bristling with offers from key competitors made it increasingly difficult for Audi to claim that it is indeed the sportiest of luxury brands.
Stadler had no word yet on pricing, but we expect the new RS5 to be positioned close to the BMW M3. Money aside, we’ll get behind the wheel shortly and report on how well it stacks up agains the benchmark Bimmer.
Word from the CEO: RS returns!
BY JENS MEINERS, PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETER BURN AND THE MANUFACTURER
April 2010
Audi is engaging BMW in a thrilling fight over who can make the sportiest premium cars, and the RS models are an important cornerstone in this strategy. Targeting BMW's legendary M line, Audi's RS family currently includes the 340-hp TT RS with its turbocharged straight-five and the 580-hp RS6, which packs a twin-turbo V-10 into either a sedan or wagon body. But alas, no RS model is currently sold in the U.S., and the brand's utterly enjoyable S models are simply outgunned by the M models and the Mercedes-Benz AMG line.
With the RS5, the wait is finally over. Audi CEO Rupert Stadler tells us that the upcoming coupe, powered by a naturally aspirated, 450-hp V-8, is U.S.-bound. That's very good news not only for Audi aficionados, but for anyone shopping in this segment. The RS5's most direct competitors will be the two-door versions of the 414-hp BMW M3 and the 556-hp Cadillac CTS-V, both bringing rear-wheel drive against the Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system. Mercedes-Benz is abandoning the segment, with no planned AMG version of its new C-class-based but E-class-badged coupe. Interestingly, Audi is sticking to its extremely high-revving engine, an evolution of the former RS4 and current R8 unit, while BMW M and Mercedes-AMG are on the verge of switching to turbocharged engines.
For a while, it seemed like the RS models wouldn't return to the U.S. market. We were told that costly certification requirements and a limited market made it difficult to justify a business case. While that may have been so, some of the most loyal Audi customers were left without a suitable in-house replacement for their beloved RS6s or RS4s, the previous generations of which were sold here. The absence of RS models in a market niche bristling with offers from key competitors made it increasingly difficult for Audi to claim that it is indeed the sportiest of luxury brands.
Stadler had no word yet on pricing, but we expect the new RS5 to be positioned close to the BMW M3. Money aside, we’ll get behind the wheel shortly and report on how well it stacks up agains the benchmark Bimmer.
04-07-10, 10:19 PM
#82
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I don't get why Audi and BMW doesn't go the same path as Mercedes.Look at how the AMG model is released simultaneously with their regular models. The RS and M models, you have to wait two damn years.
04-21-10, 06:56 AM
#83
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http://www.insideline.com/audi/rs5/a...to-the-us.html
Audi RS5: 444-HP Coupe Will Come to the U.S.
Published Apr 20, 2010
* Poor
* So-So
* Pretty Good
* Good
* Excellent
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
Just the Facts:
* Audi RS5 is coming to North America by September 2011.
* European sales of the left-hand-drive RS5 start in June 2010.
* RS5 base pretax price in Germany is 65,300 euros (U.S. $88,650), 32.4 percent over the S5 price.
MALAGA, Spain — After a long period of hemming and hawing about the issue, Audi has decided to bring the long-awaited RS5 coupe to the United States.
A product marketing contact from Quattro GmbH, the division at the Neckarsulm factory that builds the RS models, tells Inside Line, "We have voted on it and the car is coming over definitely. But," he adds, "it will be more than a year out from the start of deliveries in Western Europe."
As the general feeling among the Quattro specialists is that an S5 coupe V8 with 444 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque tied to an 8,250-rpm redline, no matter how desirable, will not sell in really huge numbers, every RS5 coupe shipped over will be fully optioned. This includes the rear-axle sport differential, Dynamic Ride Control software upgrades, and possibly the chromed thundering Boysen sport exhaust — all optional in other markets.
The RS5 coupe is Audi's first production car to carry the third-generation Quattro all-wheel drive system, which is almost 15 pounds lighter overall, uses a crown-wheel center differential for a wider distribution of torque to either the front (up to 70 percent) or rear axle (up to 85 percent), and incorporates standard torque vectoring between the four wheels in the ESP software to combat notorious understeer.
If we're to go by the German-market 32.4 percent price hike for the Audi RS5 coupe over the S5 coupe, U.S. pricing would start at around $69,500. With the options list tossed in as standard North American kit, however, make it an MSRP of just over $75,000.
The Quattro folks threw a dart at the end of August or early September 2011 for the first North American deliveries.
Inside Line says: The A5-bodied family is so appealing that even the two-door RS5 should find a larger audience than Audi anticipates. This is one that really can take it hard-core to the BMW M3 coupe and future Mercedes C63 coupe. Couldn't they bring it sooner, though? — Matt Davis, Correspondent
Published Apr 20, 2010
* Poor
* So-So
* Pretty Good
* Good
* Excellent
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
Just the Facts:
* Audi RS5 is coming to North America by September 2011.
* European sales of the left-hand-drive RS5 start in June 2010.
* RS5 base pretax price in Germany is 65,300 euros (U.S. $88,650), 32.4 percent over the S5 price.
MALAGA, Spain — After a long period of hemming and hawing about the issue, Audi has decided to bring the long-awaited RS5 coupe to the United States.
A product marketing contact from Quattro GmbH, the division at the Neckarsulm factory that builds the RS models, tells Inside Line, "We have voted on it and the car is coming over definitely. But," he adds, "it will be more than a year out from the start of deliveries in Western Europe."
As the general feeling among the Quattro specialists is that an S5 coupe V8 with 444 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque tied to an 8,250-rpm redline, no matter how desirable, will not sell in really huge numbers, every RS5 coupe shipped over will be fully optioned. This includes the rear-axle sport differential, Dynamic Ride Control software upgrades, and possibly the chromed thundering Boysen sport exhaust — all optional in other markets.
The RS5 coupe is Audi's first production car to carry the third-generation Quattro all-wheel drive system, which is almost 15 pounds lighter overall, uses a crown-wheel center differential for a wider distribution of torque to either the front (up to 70 percent) or rear axle (up to 85 percent), and incorporates standard torque vectoring between the four wheels in the ESP software to combat notorious understeer.
If we're to go by the German-market 32.4 percent price hike for the Audi RS5 coupe over the S5 coupe, U.S. pricing would start at around $69,500. With the options list tossed in as standard North American kit, however, make it an MSRP of just over $75,000.
The Quattro folks threw a dart at the end of August or early September 2011 for the first North American deliveries.
Inside Line says: The A5-bodied family is so appealing that even the two-door RS5 should find a larger audience than Audi anticipates. This is one that really can take it hard-core to the BMW M3 coupe and future Mercedes C63 coupe. Couldn't they bring it sooner, though? — Matt Davis, Correspondent
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