Audi RS5 Sportback - 2019 Sometimes a Twin Turbo V6 is Enough...

The lament of car enthusiasts around the world who have a love for the V8 engine, not as smooth as a V12, or as special as a V10 but when fully tuned right it can be the greatest reward of performance and sound that one can afford. Lately, in the performance sector, the downsized engine block size to accommodate Emission standards has played a prominent role in keeping up with the government and the customer. The funny thing is in some cases the downsized engines with more Turbo Support are actually better than it's predecessor's I see the good things come in small packages theme sung by Kevin Hart as I make that comment.  So what if a company decided to drop it's  V8 and lower the engine block sized for its 6 cylinder engines. For one your losing the engine sound no matter what you do it is a V6 it will never sound exactly like an 8 Cylinder but that could be said about V8 engines between manufacturers (Ferrari vs Mercedes) or the firing order in the cylinders. So what about speed, you lose power and speed, don't you? Not necessarily see when you have a smaller engine you have less weight, well it's supposed to be sorry Nissan GTR, and that means technically you can go faster on roads where the limit is 150 MPH, it's at the top end where the big V8's will start to take charge but realistically 1/10th of 1 percent of people can actually reach these speeds. 

So Audi has taken a page out of its stablemate Porshe's handbook and gone the smaller route, I mean the Porshe 911 Turbo S can reach 200+ mph with a Twin Turbo V6.  In this offering, the RS5 Sportback the car that mixes practicality + performance the 2.9 TT V6 Mates to an 8 Speed Tip Tronic producing 444 Ponies and 443 LB TQ the 0-60 as measured by Audi comes in at 3.7 Seconds, with a top speed of 174 MPH if you check the box on the optional speed pack. So what the hell was I talking about with the V8, well after my ride  in the RS5 I can say no harm, no foul and I was mistaken this car fly's, the transmission thinks in milli-seconds though not as throaty as a V8 it sings a nice high tune and if the V8 has to go away I could sorta get used to this thing. 

Audi perhaps not the greatest of the handling Auto Manufacturers from a professional race track perspective has always won the hearts of Average Joe's such as myself due to driver comfortability aka hero handling at high speeds. With 4 tires planted to the ground, it is quite difficult for vehicles with a 2wd drive set up to compete and when it came to 0-60 Audi's ruled the roost. So back in Audi's old days, the suspension feeling was a bit numb the car didn't have the sports car feeling but how things have changed as Benz and BMW try and copy the AWD formula Audi has focused in on the driver experience sitting,.7 mm lower than the S5 and the engine slotted further back in the cabin this is where fun, meets real-time performance. Other additions that further solidify the all-around performance of the car are the independent front and rear 5 Link Suspensions when you enter the independent realm you got to ask yourself how much more communal sharing did they do with Porshe and than thank the God's for any benchmarking they did do with Porshe. 

5 Things to think about: 

• Brand new MMI Interface all touch 8-inch screen / Interactive Cockpit 12.3-inch cluster housing all your information needs. 
• 3,900 Curb weight - 444 HP / 443 LB TQ available at 1,900 RPM 
• 5 Link Suspension Independent Front & Rear / New Engine Layout Engine sits further back / Dynamic Ride 
• 2.9 / TT V6 - 0-60: 3.7 / Top Speed 174 MPH 
• Practicality, yes the dog, and the kids will fit 

Engine Specs: 2.9 BiTurbo V6 
Transmission: 8 Speed Tip Tronic (near as quick as a dual clutch) 
0-60: 3.7 Seconds 1/4 Mile: 12.0 Seconds 
Top Speed: 174 MPH 
Tire Size: 265 35 All ARound