Thought Mercedes
AMG and BMW M were the only place to get your German super-sedan thrills? There
is now a third way and it’s called the Audi RS7.
Audi RS7 Sport
back Black
We’re
charging down the long, straight tunnel with the engine at full chat, the
windows left ajar, of course; but strangely, I’m distracted. Amidst all the
speed and all the noise, I’m trying my very best to recall the Audi S6 we drove
a few months ago, and failing spectacularly. I remember it being a really quick
car, and that the engine note sounded really nice, but not like this. Sure,
this is an RS, so it should be harder and faster, but I’m clearly not prepared
for just how much extra performance Audi’s new RS7 doles out.
You see,
like the S6, the RS7 also uses a 4.0-litre, twin-turbo, direct-injection V8,
but this one punches out a solid 553bhp, 71.38kgm, and a lot more noise. What
that means is a sports bike-rivalling specific output
of 183bhp per litre, and the title of Most Powerful Production Audi in the
World – yes, it’s 10bhp up on even the track-focused R8 V10 Plus supercar. The
engine undoubtedly dominates the RS7 experience, but we’ll come back to that
later, because there’s a lot else to like about this car.
2014 Audi RS7
Sport back - Rear
For
instance, just look at it – it’s hard to argue that the RS7 isn’t an absolute
stunner. In fact, while the standard A7 on which it is based could be accused
of looking a bit hunch-backed from some angles, this car’s added muscle
balances things out. The lower ride height and wider sills give it a more
serious stance, while the big, 21-inch slim-spoked
wheels fill up their housings and bare large, serious-
looking drilled petal brake discs. Then there are details like the sharp chin
spoiler, the big air intakes and the black honeycomb grille at the front, the
silver wing mirrors in the middle, and those huge oval RS tailpipes on either
side of a black diffuser at the rear, that only add to the menace.
2014 Audi RS7
Sport back - Engine
The cabin
we’re so comfortably ensconced in now, however, is anything but menacing. Sure,
the wood has been replaced with racy carbon fibre, the
big leather wheel with a chunky, flat-bottomed one and the aircraft
throttle-like gear lever with a stubby RS shifter. But everything else is
standard A7 fare – which is to say very luxurious. As we hammer further down
the highway, my spine is being absorbed by a thick layer of quilted Alcantara on a body-hugging sports seat, adaptive air
suspension is smothering the expansion joints in the concrete, and each of the
car’s four passenger zones has a different temperature setting. All the tech
your inner teenager desires is here too – satnav, a heads-up display and a
1,200-watt Bang & Olufsen stereo, which will see
very little use if, like me, you prefer the sound of a good V8. The pair of
rear seats isn’t bad either, sporty individual buckets themselves, but then the
RS7 is no limousine for the chauffeur-driven, and the front is where you’ll
want to be to experience its full potential. And all its
fury.
