Audi

RS 7 Sportback

Boasting supercar performance stats and all the glitz and glamour associated with a premium brand, the RS 7 Sportback delivers blistering pace, outstanding driving dynamics and all the techno treats you could wish for.

The good

Handling and dynamics

The bad

No-one will ever let you join a traffic queue

Tech Specs

Price from

£84,525

Combined Fuel up to

29.7mpg

0-62 from

3.9 seconds

max speed up to

155mph

co2 from

221g/km

Test Drive

Audi RS 7 Sportback

This short sentence will probably take you about four seconds to read. And in that time as your brain absorbs and arranges the words into some sort of meaning, the Audi RS 7 Sportback will have sprinted to 62mph from a standing start.

I think you’ll agree that’s pretty quick.

In order to achieve such blistering performance stats, Audi has blended the awesome power of the 560PS RS 6 Avant with the sleek, elegant coupe-like styling of the A7 Sportback – the end result is a car that oozes class and blasts off like a rocket.

It has an electrically-controlled speed limit of 155, but add in an option pack and the RS 7 Sportback can achieve a staggering 189mph, which conjures up images of those German autobahns with their wonderful unrestricted speed limits.

By utilising its latest lightweight construction technology with aluminium accounting for 20% of the car’s surface area, Audi has built a car that is incredibly fast, agile and even fairly economical with official figures claiming combined fuel efficiency of 28.8mpg and emissions of 229g/km.

But thankfully, the RS 7 Sportback is so much more than a mere muscle car that’s all grunt and growl.

The fact is the RS 7 Sportback is actually rather practical. Yes, it has all the supercar stats and driving dynamics you could wish for. But there is room in side for back seat passengers to actually stretch out in comfort and luggage options are impressive too.

The car looks amazing from any approach thanks to its beautiful coupe streamlining with smooth, flowing lines.

Then there is the a spoiler that automatically deploys at 81mph and retracts again at 50mph, plus sweeping all-LED headlights, darkened rear LED lights, 21-inch 5-spoke blade alloys, a slide and tilt glazed sunroof and so much more.

You could literally walk round and round this car all day long without getting tired of looking at it.

And once inside it’s impossible not to be wowed by the build quality and refined sophistication that surrounds you. Audi has incorporated the very finest leathers and materials to create a distinctive and very charismatic cabin environment.

For example, the seats are designed using Black Valcon Honeycomb quilted leather with rock grey stitching. They offer tremendous support combined with the comfort levels usually associated with a favourite armchair.

Elsewhere, there is a soft-touch dashboard with flashes of aluminium race inlays scattered around. The flat-bottomed racing-style steering wheel has a multitude of buttons to help control the car’s multi-media systems and driving modes without taking your hands off the wheel.

And the adjustable head-up display offers a constant reminder of your speed, which is vital as the acceleration is so fast and deceptively smooth in the RS 7 Sportback.

Admittedly, the car is not cheap but neither is anything about it.

The test model started with a price-tag of £82k but this increased to £111,255 when a host of optional extras were introduced, such as a Bang & Olufsen advanced sound system, power door closing, heat/sound insulating glass and a Dynamic Package which adds a top speed increase to 189mph, ceramic brakes, RS sports suspension with Dynamic Ride Control and Dynamic Steering.

It appears Audi likes the use of the word dynamic and so they should because it perfectly sums up the RS 7 Sportback.

Powered by a 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine and with the added reassurance of Audi’s quattro four-wheel-drive system, the RS 7 Sportback delivers incredible performance capabilities. The road-holding is outstanding and any corner can be attacked with confidence.

Acceleration through the eight-speed automatic gearbox is beautifully responsive and with the exhaust flap control, the car literally snap, crackles and pops as it accelerates and brakes drawing attention with every noisy note.

The driver can choose from different driving modes which alter the car’s performance and driving dynamics and no journey will ever seem too long behind the wheel of the RS 7 Sportback.

That’s because it’s so refined without being garish, it delivers edge-of-the-seat speed yet in a controlled manner and it’s amazingly comfortable but not in a pipe and slippers way.

The RS 7 Sportback is being viewed as the flagship of the Audi A7 Sportback range and after my test drive I have to agree. Now for those six lucky numbers!