Audi RS4 Cabriolet : HAIR APPARENT

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An Open Topped Car With 414bhp That Seats Four? It May Sound Extreme But In The RS4 Cabriolet, Audi Hope To Have Hit On A Winning Formula. Andy Enright Reports

I'd love to be able to tell you what 155mph feels like in an Audi RS4 Cabriolet. Really I would. The fact remains, however, that I'm 37, my old man uses a chamois leather to part his hair and I'm worried what remains of my thatch would vanish for good if I tried to explore the extreme limits of this car's performance. I'm prepared to take Audi at their word this time round.

Just remember when you drop the hood and prod the loud pedal of this 414bhp powerhouse that the Beaufort scale reckons 70mph to be hurricane force wind. Double that with interest and you have a car that can reproduce some of nature's most violent forces just with the flex of your right ankle. Never before has an open-top production Audi had such a devastating amount of muscle. Even BMW's E46 M3 Cabriolet, a car which seemed extreme when it was launched, has to cede an enormous 71bhp power advantage to the car that wears the four rings. What does all that power mean in practice? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this car is extremely rapid. The bald figures don't do it justice but 60mph from rest in 4.7 seconds and then to 125mph in 17.5 seconds marks this down as a thunderously quick vehicle, soft top roof notwithstanding. I usually have a problem with cars that started out as coupes or saloons and have their roofs sawn off but the Audi RS4 Cabriolet is just too extreme, too overblown to harbour much in the way of grudges against. There will still be purists who claim the Audi doesn't have the finesse at the limit of adhesion of a BMW M3 and they'd be dead right. The thing is, how often do we drive our cars right on the ragged edge, teetering on the brink of a big insurance claim? If you're like any of the owners of premium sports convertibles that I've met, the answer is rarely, if ever. It's not the point. The raison d'etre of a car like the Audi RS4 Cabriolet is acceleration that feels like you've been rabbit-punched by Joe Calzaghe and styling that will have passers by waking into pavement furniture.

"The RS4 Cabriolet is capable of generating hurricane-force wind speeds in less than six seconds"

The drop top RS4 is, by any objective measure, a stunningly handsome car. The rhombus-pattern grille, the additional air intakes, the huge alloy wheels, purposeful stance and the discreet badging identify this model as something rather special. The hood itself is an electro-hydraulic soft top rather than a heavy and complex folding hard top arRangement. It lowers at the press of a button in 21 seconds and can be operated at speeds of up to 30km/h, ideal for when you're nosing through traffic and the heavens open or when you've just spotted a parking space and need to make a rapid exit. The hood features an acoustic liner to keep the interior quiet when it is in position and a glass rear window ensures decent rear visibility. The RS4 is a car very much defined by its engine and the soft-topped model just gets you closer to the action. Press the aluminium starter button on the transmission tunnel and you can't help but smile as the engine thrums to life. There's mischief in this metal all right. Tap-tap on the pedals, palm the gear lever into first and there's an almost Porsche consistency to the controls. The engine pulls cleanly, the clutch action is easy and access to that performance is surprisingly benign. The brakes are concussively fierce, however, and require some time to get used to - the eight-pot callipers up front chowing down onto huge 365mm discs - but train your braking foot to act sensitively and you'll get on fine with them. Let's have another crack at getting the best from that engine. The trick is to keep your foot in. At around 5,500rpm, the RS4 transforms from M3 quick to 911 Turbo rapid. This engine marks a change in philosophy from Audi, the company ditching the lazy old turbo luggers in favour of high-revving naturally-aspirated engines. The RS4 will happily rev right up to its soft limiter at 8,250rpm and while there are other cars that can do this sort of trick, most will set your teeth on edge. The Audi is different and it makes the most magnificent howl as the redline approaches, especially if the steering-wheel mounted Sport button is pressed, changing the exhaust valving and giving the RS4 an even fiercer soundtrack. The steering of any RS4 is a revelation. As dewy eyed as it's possible to get over the original ur-quattro model, the RS4's helm is better weighted and makes the car easier to place through fast corners. There's a lot of weight in the nose but turn-in is surprisingly good unless you commit with either too much or too little throttle. Do this and you'll feel this elegant car suddenly grow clumsy and nose heavy, the ESP v.8 stability control system intervening in extremis. It's not too hard to work out where these limits are. Corner in a disciplined manner and you'll benefit from that astonishing quattro traction hooking up and catapulting you out of the bend. Aluminium panels help keep bulk down but the RS4 still weighs an eleven stone passenger more than an M3. That engine is its get out of jail free card, lifting it to a massively superior power to weight ratio. The Cabriolet's handling won't be as sharp as the saloon's but with one of the world's great engines at your disposal, you probably won't care. The RS4 Cabriolet comes as standard with full leather trim, although rear leg room isn't the most generous if taller occupants sit up front. Equipment levels are as you'd expect from a £60,000 Audi. Riding on unique alloy wheels framing huge disc brakes, this RS4 gets black leather sports seats, cruise control, front seat heating, a BOSE sound system, front and rear acoustic parking sensors and electronic tyre pressure monitoring. Anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution, Bosch's latest ESP v.8 stability control system and no fewer than six airbags also feature as standard. There's something faintly ludicrous about a car this quick, this capable and yet this frivolous. In lopping the roof off the RS4 saloon, Audi have created a very expensive yet very desirable toy. The RS4 Cabriolet is no worse for that, but although it's a tough car to take seriously, it's a very easy thing to love.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: Audi RS4 Cabriolet
PRICE: £59,900 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 20
CO2 EMISSIONS: 331g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 4.7s / Max Speed 155mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 20.4mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags, ABS, ESP
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: (length/width/height) 4573/1777/1415mm