Audi RS7 Performance review

There’s a war ever raging between esteemed luxury automakers. Every few years, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, or Porsche introduces a revolutionary design, engine, or platform to put rivals in an orderly line behind it. In 2005, Mercedes-Benz effectively created the 4-door coupe segment with the introduction of its CLS-Class. Four years later, Porsche countered with its hunchbacked Panamera. Then came Audi’s A7 Sportback, and finally, BMW entered with the 6 Series Gran Coupe.

While the Merc was first to market, like many industries, the best product bubble to the top of the sales charts. In the case of the 4-door coupe segment, Audi’s A7 drove design circles around its competition. The Sportback’s elegant shape never felt like a response to the new segment, but rather a redefinition.
With 2017 model year vehicles on the way, each of these 4-door coupes are preparing for new generations. But instead of waning competition between aging body styles, the fighting has intensified; no longer is this a clash of curves, it’s a showdown of strength.

Under the hood is a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 developing 605 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. Compared to the standard RS7, the Performance variant wrangles an extra 45 horses and 37 pound-feet of twist. To understand just how similar these figures are to actual supercar specs, let’s compare Audi’s halo performance model, the R8 V10 Plus. While the loss of a set of doors means the R8 weighs 900lbs less, it only delivers five more horsepower and undercuts the RS7 Performance’s torque figure by 140 lb-ft.

Audi estimates the RS7 Performance’s sprint to 60 mph will take 3.6 seconds, but many independent sources have achieved low three-second romps. Keep your foot in it and the 4-door super coupe will accelerate all the way to 190 mph. Audi’s 8-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters flips through gears in an instant, enabling the RS7’s powertrain to work its magic. And if the straight-line speed doesn’t overwhelm you, Audi’s Quattro all-wheel drive system will finish the job.