Audi’s potent RS 5 Coupe is now on sale priced at $175,300.

With its high-revving 4.2-litre V8 delivering 331kW at 8,250rpm and 430Nm from 4,000 rpm, the Audi RS 5 drives all four wheels via a seven-speed S tronic automatic and returns an impressively economical 10.8l/100kms. 

Underneath is even more technology from Audi with a crown-gear center differential offering torque vectoring which can brake an individual wheel for optimal roadholding. Normally drive is distributed 40:60 front-rear but the new center differential can vary that – up to 70 per cent to the front or 85 per cent to the rear.

The Audi RS 5 runs 19-inch alloy wheels (20-inch optional) and its sports suspension sits 20mm lower than a standard A5. From next year Audi will offer the RS 5 a new damping technology - a mechanical system called Dynamic Ride Control (DRC). 

From the outside, the RS 5 is reminiscent of the Audi Quattros of the 1980s with its sharp upper edges and flared rear quarter panels.

Inside is the usual Audi sporty opulence – S-design sports seats finished in Silk Nappa leather (sports RS seats are optional) and carbon fibre trim finishes amongst the available interior treatments. Alloy pedals and piano-black finish for the instrument panel confirm the RS 5’s sporty pedigree