Full Circle

Audi’s RS4 returns to its six-pack roots in a world where boost beats cubes.

- Trent Giunco

RUSHING IN peak-hour traffic is futile – especially when time is of the essence. My body’s natural coping mechanisms aren’t helping allay an anxious mind. My eyes glance at the clock repeatedly as if to somehow, by magic, make the digits regress and my thumbs tap the steering wheel in a rhythm akin to a sporadic nervous twitch. It’s a manic dance performed daily and, on this occasion at least, Melbourne’s hustle and bustle has defeated me. I’m hopelessly late.

“Did you pick up the RS4 on your way to work, Trent?” asks associate editor, Scott Newman. I pause – it’s the kind of fleeting moment where you teeter between fact and fiction – before admitting that I didn’t have the keys to a B9 Audi RS4 Avant in my possession. Despite the myriad expletives running through my head, the overarching thought stuck in my brain is, “how did I ‘forget’ about an Audi RS4?”

History uncovers the answer; ancestry doesn’t come much more revered. The previous-gen B8 RS4 is an aural watermark in terms of atmo V8 delights. It wasn’t without fault, but a screaming 8250rpm redline certainly made it memorable. Even the RS2 – a co-development with Porsche which started the RS line – and the original twin-turbo V6 B5 RS4 seem to carry more lustre. So, without even setting eyes on its pragmatic, yet purposeful silhouette, the new 2.9-litre TFSI twin-turbo V6 Avant already has preconceptions to overcome. It’s been shrouded in controversy amongst fans and claims of it losing its emotive appeal are rife. Buying into that narrative seems like the easy option. However, after finally making the trip to Audi, a Misano red RS4 sits before me, ready to disprove all the haters.