Thread: First drive review: Audi RS5 cabriolet

The Audi RS5 cabriolet has undeniable appeal, but the drop-top M3 is still our choiceWell, its got four seats, four-wheel drive, 444bhp and a fabric roof. Only quattro GmbH could possibly assemble that kind of heavyweight concoction: thats right, its the RS5 cabriolet, the new 68,960 A5 range-topper. With BMWs 4-series line-up destined to land next year, its probably appropriate that Audi has offered up a musclebound reminder as to why its major rival decided the differentiated badging was necessary in the first place. The three-door A5 has proved a major coup, and even if the alfresco RS5 is unlikely to add much to the overall sales volume, its a potent halo to have in the showroom. Inevitably it shares much with the coupe variant. The high-revving 4. 2-litre V8 engine remains up front, still shackled to the seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch automatic gearbox. The union, in conjunction with a launch control program and the familiar, highly sophisticated quattro all-wheel-drive system, delivers a brusque 0-62mph time of 4. 9sec. Up top the roof has made way for a lightweight, triple-layered soft top that, up to 31mph, can be shed in 15 seconds or almost as swiftly lowered in 17. Impressively, the hood only requires 60 litres of boot space to stow, meaning theres a class-leading 320 litres left to brim with clutter.