Audi unveils new RS7 Sportback ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show
Audi has unveiled it’s five-door RS7 Sportback at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It has got sleek styling with a wider body and a more powerful twin-turbo V8 with 591bhp and 800Nm of torque, which is now a hybrid, to make it go as fast as it looks. It has all the ingredients of an everyday sports car it’s other ‘RS’ siblings are known for.
Under the hood of the RS7
Power comes from a 4-litre TFSI V8 with two turbos and mild hybrid technology. It gets permanent all-wheel drive like all other Audi Sport models, does 0-100kmph in 3.6 seconds and on to a electronically limited top speed of 250kmph as standard, 280kmh if you have got the optional ‘Dynamic’ package specced or a supercar matching 305kmph with the ‘Dynamic Plus’ package. The RS7 gets an eight-speed Tiptronic gearbox as standard and an all new launch control system. The 48 volt mild hybrid system enables the start/stop function as well as cylinder deactivation along with a smart system that decides if it’s suitable for the car to coast or regenerate energy to improve efficiency.
Ride and handling:
Audi pitches it’s ‘Sport’ models as everyday sports cars, the RS7 gets adaptive air suspension as standard tuned specifically for the RS and a reworked spring rate helps it achieve high speed stability and agility. It sits 20mm lower than the standard A7 sportback and drops a further 10mm above speeds of 120kmph. The RS7 also has an optional sport suspension plus with ‘Dynamic Ride Control’ which further improves the agility and stability of the car during spirited driving. It gets optional rear wheel steering where the car will steer the rear tyres up to 5 degrees in the opposite direction at low speeds to aid maneuverability and turn the rear wheels up to 2 degrees in the same direction at high speed to aid high speed stability. The car comes with 21-inch wheels as standard a set of 22-inch RS specific rims can be optioned as well, we’ll know how that affects the ride once we get our hands on the car. The wheel-selective torque control optimizes the handling by applying the brakes to the wheels on the inside of a bend before they have the chance to slip. The ‘Quattro Sport Differential’, included with the optional Dynamic and Dynamic plus packages, shifts torque between the rear wheels as needed during cornering, to improve traction and stability.
Interior:
The interior of the RS7 is a tech fest, there are three total screens – one is the ‘Virtual Cockpit’ drivers display and two MMI screens, one for the infotainment and another one for the climate control. The car has custom RS mode displays that show the cars g-forces, boost pressure, oil and tyre temperatures as well as upshift indicators. The interior of the car is very sporty with red stitching everywhere along with a splash of alcantara. The new RS1 and RS2 modes enable the driver to set up customised profiles for the steering, transmission and suspension to provide quick switching between the two modes. Audi is offering the RS7 with four or five seat options and has a luggage capacity of 535 litres or 1390 litres with the rear seats folded.
Exterior:
The RS7 shares only four panels with the standard A7, the tailgate, front doors, hood and roof. All other panels are bespoke for the RS7, it is also wider than ever before. The RS7 sits low to the ground coupled with the sloping roof line and the wide stance gives the car a very poised and sleek look. The headlights are full LED as standard and gets optional ‘RS Matrix LED Laser headlights’ which have a very cool animation sequence on lock and unlock. The whole car looks far more aggressive and looks fairly inspired by the recently unveiled RS6 too.
The RS7 competes with the likes of the Mercedes AMG CLS 53 which has a 423bhp turbo and supercharged inline-6, the RS7 is almost a second faster to 100kmph and has 150bhp more than the Mercedes.
