| Test Drive: Audi RS 4 |
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Page 1 of 2  YOU COULD SAY THAT SANTA Barbara,
California, and the 2007 Audi RS 4 are made for each other. Both city
and sedan project a laid-back confidence, an assurance that they can
win over plenty of admirers without really having to try. No drama,
no pretense—well, not much pretense. Santa Barbara’s manicured
palms, exorbitant real estate prices, and yachts bobbing in the
harbor along Cabrillo Boulevard, for instance, whisper wealth and
power. But its sidewalk café tables and
flip-flops-and-boardshorts dress code suggest that no one’s much
interested in ostentation. It’s not always easy to tell the guy who
just clinched a three-picture deal with Universal from the guy who’s
about to hit you up for spare change. Somebody in town must be
working hard, but no one admits to it in public.So last fall, when I picked up Audi’s sport sedan in Los Angeles, I beelined for this understated but seductive haven 90 minutes (if the freeway gods are smiling) to the northwest, where the RS 4 and I would both feel more at home. The plan was to spend four days putting the brawny little speedster through its paces in town and on the winding back roads of the Santa Ynez Valley wine country nearby. Like these idyllic environs—where the California dream is alive and well and available at a steep premium—the car doesn’t look as though impressing onlookers is job one. Other than a few RS 4 nameplates, the voluptuous fender flares, and the wide, low-profile Pirelli P Zero tires projecting a slight sense of menace, there’s scarcely a hint that this aggressive little Quattro isn’t just another $30,000 A4. Clark Kent could drive this Audi around Metropolis without arousing suspicion.  Underneath that mild-mannered exterior,
however, there’s a superhero’s helping of muscle. Even before I’d
gotten a chance to flex the tachometer, I noticed the RS 4’s
stratospheric 8,250-rpm redline—a lot higher than your typical GM
pushrod V-8’s. That means that staying in the sweet spot of this
car’s power band requires paying attention: In most gears the
Audi’s 4.2-liter V-8 is happiest over 3,000 rpm. In that range,
however, it lacks nothing in terms of response. Whenever I eased up
over three grand, the power was immediate and the acceleration steady
all the way up to redline. Zero-to-60 went by in a holy-shit 4.7
seconds. Three seconds later I was staring down the high side of 100
miles per hour.
To give the RS 4 some room to stretch, I decided to leave Santa Barbara in the rearview and wind my way up the steep, sinuous curves of San Marcos Pass on Route 154 toward Santa Ynez and its sprawling thoroughbred ranches and low-key but award-winning wineries. Climbing into the hills, I was amazed at how all four tubby tires stayed in contact with the road. The RS 4 held the line with something akin to intimacy, communicating the road to me at all times. Despite having its engine hanging largely out ahead of the front axles—which would typically diminish control, to say the least—the RS 4 remains remarkably well mannered, compliant, composed, and driver-friendly. We rocketed through canyons, the Audi and me, glued to the pavement as if every twist and turn had been laid out for our personal enjoyment. |
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