review and photos by Jil McIntosh

March 17, 2008

Photo Gallery: 2008 Audi RS4

Specifications: 2008 Audi RS4

The Guide: 2008 Audi RS4

Oshawa, Ontario: In Ontario, where I live, there’s a very straightforward rule: if you’re caught doing 50 km/h over the speed limit, the police impound your car for a week. You can’t appeal it; you can only cool your heels for seven days until they release the car (and your license) back to you.

It also doesn’t matter who owns the car, and that’s why the RS4 could be nerve-wracking at times. More than once I found myself at a point where I could be going to Audi, hat in hand, and trying to explain why it would take a little longer for them to get their car back. The RS4’s acceleration is so effortless that you simply don’t realize how much ground you’re gobbling up. You know those few seconds in an airplane, after the initial thrust that pushes you back in your seat, when it feels like you’re only halfway down the runway, but then you realize the wheels are no longer on the ground? That’s how this car feels. One moment you’re below the legal speed limit and then, in the blink of an eye and with just the slightest pressure on the throttle, you’re ready to take flight.

What makes this all possible is the same 4.2-litre V8 that also rests between the flanks of the mighty R8, pushing 420 horses and 317 lb-ft of torque through Quattro permanent all-wheel drive with 40/60 rear bias. The sole transmission choice is a six-speed manual. There’s no turbo- or supercharging; instead, it’s Audi’s FSI direct-injection system, which pushes the fuel directly into the combustion chambers, and also increases compression under full load. The result is increased power and torque with a 15 per cent benefit in fuel economy, the company says, citing official figures of 16.8 L/100 km in the city and 10.1 L/100 km on the highway. I got 19.3. You wanna play, you gotta pay.

It’s a considerable jump up in power from the S4. Already a hot beast in its own right, the S4 offers a mere 340 horses and 302 lb-ft of torque against its bigger brother’s testosterone enhancement.

Start up this über-4 – with a twist of the key, not a silly starter button – and that V8 comes to life. My tester included a premium Bose stereo, but I never turned it on. Instead, I pressed the Sport Mode button. It increases the aggressiveness of the throttle response, but first, it turns up the exhaust note from a rumble to a roar that eliminates any need for extra musical entertainment.

The short-throw shifter snicks accurately into each gear, and the throttle is extremely smooth, allowing the RS4 to be driven sedately in traffic. Find a stretch of open road, though, and the acceleration will catch you by surprise. Official figures are zero to 96 km/h in 4.8 seconds, but the incredible grip makes it feel even faster than that. You can feel each tire grabbing the asphalt for the sole purpose of using every ounce of power to move forward. There is no tire spin or sideways movement, nothing that would detract from gaining speed. As much as 90 per cent of torque is available between 2,250 and 7,600 rpm; no matter when you put your foot down, the RS4 can still offer more. The top speed is governed at 250 km/h, but the speedometer goes to 310.

Audi’s engineers have done a marvelous job of balancing this vehicle, with hood and fenders formed from aluminum; read the specs, and you’ll find a mere 3.93 kg per horsepower. The old hot rodder’s adage about putting the biggest engine into a lightweight vehicle is as true today as it was back on the salt flats in 1939.

Unlike many sports-oriented vehicles, which should include a kidney belt as standard equipment, the RS4’s ride is big and smooth. It features RS-specific Dynamic Ride Control, an interconnected series of dampers that reduces body roll and pitch during cornering and braking. It’s seamless – surprisingly, there are no electronics involved in the system – and helps give the RS4 its pancake-flat cornering ability. The engineers also got to the brakes, which use meaty 18-inch cross-drilled and ventilated rotors, eight-piston front calipers and cooling air jets to reduce fading. They bring the RS4 down from any speed almost immediately, with extremely confident pedal feel.

Inside, the RS4 has its good and bad points. In its favour, it has the flawless workmanship expected from Audi, with fit-and-finish that borders on anal, including backlighting on every conceivable control. The bolstered leather Recaro seats are all-day comfortable, including a manual pull-out thigh support. The seating position is perfect and the wheel is exactly the right size. Should you be off on a trip, the cavernous trunk is 110 cm long and opens to a not-quite-flat 158 cm when the rear seats are folded; you’ll have enough room for your biggest suitcases.

On the other hand, this is an A4 under it all, and that means cramped rear-seat passengers (the all-new, redesigned 2009 A4 takes care of that problem, but plans for an RS version haven’t been announced yet). The dual-zone automatic climate control system is fairly simple to use, but its squared-off design and plain plastic buttons look dated. As for my tester’s optional navigation system, I think I would have done better driving around and hoping to stumble onto my destination by chance, than I would have in figuring out how to program it into the completely non-intuitive system.

The RS4 comes well-equipped and includes such standard features as a sunroof, adaptive bi-Xenon headlamps and driver information display with integrated lap timer. Overall, when you look at the performance, the handling, the braking and the quality, this car is absolutely spectacular.

So what’s wrong with it? Quite simply, it’s way too much money. Its base price is $94,200, and with two packages of added luxury and appearance items, my tester came to a cool $101,500 before freight and taxes. I know that performance costs money, but from the driver’s seat, I tagged the RS4 at about $75,000 (as did every one of the many passengers I took out for a spin). Apparently, so does Audi of America, which charges $66,910 practically-at-par U.S. dollars for it. I can accept that there’s going to be some pricing difference between the two countries, but a $27,290 premium is just far too much to swallow.

Still, the RS4 will find an audience with deep-pocketed fans, and if they don’t mind the shameless gouge, they’re getting a car that I think will resonate with performance car fans for decades to come. The price soured me on the economics but certainly not on the car; in the annals of Audi history, this road rocket has justifiably earned a place.

Pricing: 2008 Audi RS4

Specifications

Click here for complete specifications

Manufacturer’s web site

www.audicanada.ca