Audi RS 5 Cabriolet Pairs Sun With Sports Performance
Audi's latest sports droptop, the RS 5 Cabriolet, has been officially revealed, a 450HP sun-lover capable of a 4.9s dash to 60mph while simultaneously getting you connected to the mobile web. The new four-seater convertible packs a V8 FSI direct injection 4.2-liter engine handmade in Audi's Hungarian plant, routed through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with paddles lurking behind the three-spoke, flat-bottomed wheel.
There's also permanent quattro all-wheel-drive which can shift power between the front and rear (up to 70-percent to the front or up to 85-percent to the back) depending on road conditions. An optional sport differential can improve handling even more, with active power distribution between the rear wheels; meanwhile, if getting off the starting block is the most important thing for you, there's a Launch Control mode.
Of course, a cabriolet is also intended to be looked at, and lower-speed swishing is made all the more eye-catching with a matt aluminum ringed single-frame honeycomb grille, LED and Xenon Plus lights, extra-large air intakes, and a matt carbon spoiler lip at the rear. The fabric hood drops in 15s and opens back up in 17s, is available in four colors – black, grey, red, or brown – and can be used at speeds up to 31mph.
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Inside, there's leather and metal aplenty, with power sport seats, an optional MMI navigation plu system with multifunction controls on the wheel, and a lap timer included in the info-screen system. Audi has used special leather pigments to avoid the seats getting too toasty in the sun – handy if you don't like your legs to be burnt but refuse to give up those summer short-shorts – and there's the option of integrated air-con funneled through perforations in the leather and Alcantara itself.
Standard equipment keeps much to the Audi A5, with adaptive cruise control, brake-assist, an optional reversing camera, integrated WiFi hotspot, and more, but there's also a set of pop-up aluminum plates if the RS 5 flips over. The Audi RS 5 Cabriolet will go on sale in early 2013 in Germany, priced from €88,500 ($113k). International availability – and pricing – is yet to be confirmed.
