What's the news?
Audi has shown off the Sportback version of the RS 5 at the New York International Auto Show and - surprise, surprise - it's a four-door, fastback version of the existing RS 5 two-door coupe.
Right, that's all you need to know. We're off home. Just imagine an RS 5 with extra doors and you're there. 'Night.
Oh, you want to know more? Fair do's I suppose...
"The Audi RS 5 Sportback is more than just an international trade fair novelty - it offers something new to our customers. Our innovative interpretation of a five-door high-performance coupé has neither predecessor models, nor a direct competitor," explains Michael-Julius Renz, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH. "The new Audi RS 5 Sportback will carry the RS genes out onto the road."
So, it looks more or less like a standard A5 Sportback (which is to say; one of the best looking cars on the road today) but the RS spec means it has been muscled-up a little, visually. The wheelarches are extended by 15mm compared to the standard model, to better wrap around the 19-inch (standard) or 20-inch (option) wheels.
At the front, you get the same wide-and-low grille, but it's filled with honeycomb mesh, and down below there's a bit air intake with matte-finish (and oh-so-eighties) Quattro lettering. There are extra gloss-black elements, a big rear diffuser, oval tail pipes for the RS exhaust system, and you have the option of Gloss Black, Carbon, and Matte Aluminium styling packs.
Right, enough styling, on with the engine, It's the same 2.9-litre TFSI twin-turbo V6 engine as inthe RS 5 coupe, and the RS 4 too. It develops 450hp and 600Nm of torque and, thanks to the standard-fit quattro four-wheel drive, it will catapult the RS 5 Sportback from 0-100km/h in 4.1 seconds. Top speed is a very naughty 280km/h, if you ask Audi to take the limiter off.
Much of that power is down to clever mounting of the twin turbos, which can pump air into the engine at 1.5-bar pressure. They're fixed at 90-degrees to the engine, with the exhaust side of the cylinder heads on the inside, and the intake side outside, which Audi says shortens the fuel paths and minimises pumping losses for even faster response.
The quattro four-wheel drive system is rear-biased, with a 60:40 rear:front split, although as much as 85 per cent can go to the front, and up to 70 per cent to the rear. Tick the box for the optional sports differential and it will vector torque between the rear wheels, too.
The suspension, a five-link setup both front and rear, sits 7mm lower than that of the standard Sportback, but if you want something a little more extreme, you can go for RS sport suspension plus with Dynamic Ride Control (DRC), ceramic brakes and RS-specific dynamic steering.
It is genuinely practical, though, with a one-metre-width boot opening, and a 480-litre boot volume. The rear seats split-fold 40:20:40 too, for ultra-high-speed runs to and from IKEA. Fold them down, and you have an estate-like 1,300 litres of luggage space.
As for the rest of the cabin, you get RS sports seats (optionally in honeycomb Napa leather), flat-bottom RS steering wheel, RS badges everywhere, and special RS instrument displays. There's even a shift-light, to remind you to change up a gear when using the automatic gearbox in manual mode.
Sales of the RS 5 Sportback start later this year, and yes you can have this gorgeous Sonoma Green paintwork - it's exclusive to the RS 5.