YOU will need to dig deep - at least £62,900 deep - for the new Audi RS5 when it arrives this summer.
That's before a visit to the famously extensive, and indeed expensive, options list that Audi will tempt you with.
As befits the über A5 coupe, even in 'standard' specification the RS5 is a mighty machine.
A new 2.9-litre V6 biturbo engine produces 444bhp and a hefty 443lb.ft, with that great slug of torque shoving all the way from as little as 1,900rpm all the way to 5,000rpm.
That, plus the latest version of the famed quattro four-wheel-drive system, explains why the RS5 gets a quoted 0-62mph time of 3.9 seconds. The top speed can be optionally lifted from a limited 155mph to a still-electronically limited 174mph.
An eight-speed automatic gearbox is your only choice, and the quattro system's default setting is to send 60 per cent of its torque to the back axle.
An RS version of Audi's swish 'virtual cockpit' digital dashboard is standard, as is a quattro sport rear differential - all the better to aid agility.
Buyers of cars such as the RS5 tend not to be overly concerned about fuel consumption and the like, but even they will be pleased to hear that their new sports coupe can achieve 32.5mpg on the EU combined cycle and pumps out 197g/km of CO2, improvements of almost 20 per cent on the last RS5. The new car is also 60kg lighter than the original RS5.
Among those options that you might feel you just have to have to complete your RS5 are a carbon fibre roof, ceramic brakes, 20-inch milled alloy wheels, a sports exhaust and dynamic steering.
A head-up display can also be specfied, as can up to 30 - 30! - driver assistance systems.
You can order yours now...
