The Audi RS5 Sportback promises ballistic performance with four doors
The Audi RS5 Sportback promises ballistic performance with four doorsTeam evo India

Audi RS5 Sportback launched in India for Rs 1.04 crore

The Audi RS5 takes the fight back to the likes of the BMW M3 and the Mercedes-AMG C63

Audi has announced the launch of the RS5 Sportback in India. The RS5 Sportback, a go-faster sibling of the four-door S5 Sportback already on sale, will be powered by a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 engine. Prices for the RS5 Sportback will start from Rs 1.04-crore.

Design

With its swooping coupe-like roofline and hunkered-down stance, the RS5 Sportback looks like it means business – the business of going fast, that is. The full fat RS5 does have subtle differences over the ‘regular’ S5, getting RS-specific bumpers with the honeycomb grille being nestled in a new single frame. Most of the design elements such as the Matrix-LED headlamps, panoramic sunroof and frameless doors are carried over from the S5 Sportback. The most prominent visual differentiator between the S5 and the RS5 has to be the body-coloured mirrors on the RS, with the S5 getting chrome housings for the same. You also get sportier ten-spoke alloys on the RS, albeit sharing the same wheel size as the S5 at 19-inches.

Interiors

It is a similar story when you step inside, with the RS5 getting a familiar interior layout. Make no mistake, this is a well-appointed high quality cabin with plenty of kit on offer. As a result, you get all-black interiors finished in leather and Alcantara, sports seats and a 180-watt music system with ten speakers, complemented by Audi’s MMI Plus interface with navigation. There’s also a flat-bottomed steering wheel with metal-finish paddle shifters. You also get Audi’s Virtual Cockpit Plus, displaying all sorts of information from the engine’s torque outputs to G-forces to the driver. You also get to choose between two RS driving modes to tweak the engine response, shift speeds and steering sensitivity – useful for when you’re hooning the RS 5 about.

Engine

Unlike the earlier car, the new RS5 Sportback has ditched natural-aspiration, with a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 now lurking under the hood, mated to an eight-speed tiptronic gearbox. Power and torque figures from the V6 stand at 444bhp and 600Nm respectively, giving the RS5 a 0 to 100kmph time of 3.9 seconds. And if the brutal acceleration isn’t enough, the RS5 has a top whack of 250kmph. Power is sent to all four wheels via Quattro permanent all-wheel drive, with a self-locking differential.

Price

With introductory prices for the RS5 Sportback starting Rs 1.04 crore, the Audi is very competitively priced – especially against the likes of its rivals from Mercedes and BMW. Both the Mercedes-AMG C63 / C63 S and the new BMW M3 are not sale in India; but with the C63 S being priced at Rs 1.39 crore and the new M3 being estimated to cost around Rs 1.4 crore – the Audi RS5 Sportback seems to have found itself a sweet spot amongst the go-faster Germans.

Check out evo India's exclusive first-drive review of Audi RS5 Sportback here

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