STEP aside Porsche. There’s a new German car inveigling itself into the affections of performance-hungry drivers. And it’s a compact four-door sedan rather than a sports coupe. Audi’s latest RS4 is quicker than a 911 Carrera as well as incredibly tractable and steadfastly grippy on all sorts of road surfaces and weather conditions. With a 309kW, 4.2-litre V8 exceeding the magic 100hp-per-litre power figure and grinding out a massive 430Nm of normally aspirated torque, it’s the latest wunderkind from Germany. It will wipe smug smiles from the faces of many supercar drivers while happily carrying four passengers and their luggage in surprising, visually-restrained four-door comfort. It’s an expensive A4, but the Audi RS4 remains a cheap way of getting into searingly-fast four-door motoring.
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Audi B5 RS4 Avant
Released: November 2000
Ended: July 2001
Family Tree: A4Devastatingly fast, ridiculously practical and a strangely compelling looker to boot, the B4-generation RS4 Avant came close to being every car a family-focussed driver could ever need. Powered by a twin-turbocharged 280kW/440Nm 2.7-litre V6 tied to a six-speed manual gearbox, there was also the grip and security of quattro all-wheel drive, to add yet another feather in this audacious Audi’s cap. Only a high pricetag – that limited the run to only 50 for Australia – and jarring ride quality detracted from an otherwise awesome package.
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