First sorry I can't bring pictures but I'll try and add some later on.
So yesterday I went off to Le Mans Bugatti track with an invitation from Audi France to test-drive the new RS4 under the leadership of the Audi Quattro Experience Center.
Short version : it's deffo a track-capable "everyday" car, a lot more than the standard V6 RS4, but I'm NOT trading my V6 RS4 MTM 460hp -Movit Brakes - Full Milltek exhaust- for it, "in your dreams honey !"
Long version : nice car, although it's only available in sedan (Avant to come) and has no turbo (won't change) so there dies the RS tradition, shame on Audi.
I had the chance to test drive with a somehow experienced instructor on my side : Patrick Tambay, who won several F1 Grand Prix under the Ferrari flag. The other instructors were in the range of multiple winners of 24H Le Mans Race, Audi FR did a great job in bringing some serious names for the demo. And we drove the cars...
(side note : the guy is SUPER cool and looks like he's really enjoying life nowadays...).
First he showed me the right way to drive on Le Mans (easy ride, relax...), then I drove under his very courteous comments ("good, that's good, try and use your eyes more actively, keep the pressure on the brakes during the turn, etc." -OK, I'm a NOOB but thx for wrapping it in a nice manner^^).
Then he made a serious driving demo of the car (WTF !!!! You are supposed to pretend to be tense, mr Tambay, not as in "this car drives fast with just two fingers and doing the chit-chat about the quattro/DRC systems while throwing the car all over the place...")
The Plus :
- very nice steering wheel/gear lever and seats (it's sporty, both looking and feeling, seriously), they did a great job to correct the V6 RS4 sub-standard specs.
- the chassis is as amazing as on the RS6 (same system), it keeps the car VERY flat on accelaration/braking/turns. You do NOT need to think "upgrade".
- very decent braking power, might be what the DE clients got on the V6 RS4 with the Quattro GmbH kit. Not an immediate need to think "upgrade" again.
- the day started at 15°c and reached 27°c later on, no change in performance (no turbo ?)
The Minus :
- atmo, atmo, atmo.... flat, linear accelaration all the way, don't expect a kick in the butt, it's just not there (no turbo ?)
- the sound is not as nice as the RS6 one, sounds a bit like a US V8 but it doesn't have the nasty growl of the RS6 we heard at Hockenheim in 2003 for the RS Challenge (no turbo ?)
- the S mode is a pain, it's not adding more HP as the new M5, just making the DRC suspension stiffer but more importantly it makes the trottle VERY VERY VERY sensitive. Up to a point where you feel like a blonde girl driving a Renault Twingo in a Parisian traffic-jam. You try to apply a small gas pressure during a turn and the car bursts litterally, shaking back and forth, making it unstable. Very unpleasant.
- cosmetic : not that different from the V8 S4, slightly wider, different external mirrors, you really need to see the car close to detect it's an V8 RS4, not a V8 RS4.
Eric
