Just add lightness.
Described as “more attractive and highly specified alternatives,” German luxury marque Audi has rolled up ‘Carbon Fibre’ editions of its new RS4 Avant and RS5 coupé. Ingolstadt has identified places and parts that could be substituted with carbon fibre (and substitute them they did), managing to shave 60kg off the sports car and 80kg off the family wagon in doing so, sharpening handling and giving the already-considerable performance a further edge.
The non-limited Carbon Edition models pack the same 2.9-litre biturbo V6, though the 330kW/600Nm on offer now spend less effort hauling weight (not that they were overly heavy to begin with). The weight saving is, naturally, aimed to improve the experience behind the wheel of the Audi Sport siblings rather than give them an outright performance edge, hence the diet. Power goes to all four corners via the company’s proprietary ‘Quattro’ system, mated to an eight-speed tiptronic transmissions.
Carbon fibre parts have replaced things like the roof (in the RS5), the front spoiler (and rear in the RS5), side skirts, rear diffuser, and interior trim pieces. Carbon fibre is also used to cap the wing mirrors, too. Further differentiating the two from their ‘lesser’ siblings are things like a matt-aluminium radiator grille frame along with a similarly-finished logo, with the same material used for the window trim and horizontal under-grille bar. And under the bonnet you’ll find more carbon fibre, utilised for the engine cover that emphases the potency of the mill that powers these cars.
RS4 and RS5 Carbon Edition cars ride on 20-inch “5-arm peak design” alloys (whatever that means) that are milled from a single piece of aluminium, rather than assembled from different pieces, further reducing weight. Audi claims that with this method, some 2kg is shaved per wheel over a conventionally-manufactured unit, reducing unsprung weight and further enhancing the handling characteristics of both cars.
To “capitalise on the performance as fully as possible,” both Carbon Edition cars receive upgrades to feature RS matrix full-LED headlights (in non-marketing garb, they want you to be able to drive confidently at night). While we’ll happily take the mickey out of advertising fluff, the Matrix LED headlights are no joke: Audi’s units are some of the best in the business, able to run on full-beam almost all of the time, blocking out other cars from its beam and highlighting potential risks faster than you or I could react. And to increase the wow-factor, the LED headlights come with sequential indicators, complementing the ones that are already on the rear.
The cabin of the RS4 and RS5 Carbon Edition models get carbon-fibre trim as far as the eye can see, with ‘Fine Nappa leather’ used to wrap the RS seats, replete with eye-catching red honeycomb stitching. Audi’s excellent ‘Virtual Cockpit’ digital dials feature here, albeit in a bespoke ‘RS’ variation, which works harmoniously with the 8.3-inch Audi MMI infotainment screen in the centre of the dash. All cars will come with an embedded ‘Audi Connect SIM’ that offers free data for the first three-years, able to keep the bundled ‘Navigation Plus’ and ‘Connect Infotainment’ systems running at their best.
Should the worst happen (heaven forbid), all cars come with multi-collision brake assistance, and blind spot warning. If you want to feel safer still, you can opt for “cost-effective option bundles” that throw in things like active lane keep assist, rear cross-traffic alert, and ‘Turn Assist’ (which puts cameras on the nose to look left and right for you, without having the bonnet sticking out into traffic).
The RS4 Avant Carbon Edition will hit the UK market at £71,625 (or $122k thereabouts), while the more desirable RS5 coupé Carbon Edition will retail for £75,400 (or $129k and change), representing a premium of £10,000 and £12,500 respectively. There’s no word on whether these special-edition cars will make it to Australia, but the car-nuts in us would love to see them on our shores.
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