2021 Audi RS5 Coupe performance testing

How quick is the Audi RS5 Coupe? It only takes a brief look at the specs to know the answer to that question is very quick indeed.

The 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 produces 331kW and 600Nm, which when paired with an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive, launches the RS5 to 100km/h in just 3.9sec. According to Audi, at least.

But here at MOTOR we don’t want to just take its word for it, so we lined it up on the Heathcote strip to record 0-60mph (for any overseas readers), 0-100km/h, 0-400m, 80-120km/h and 100-0km/h figures – a comprehensive test of how the RS5 stops and goes.

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Before attempting to activate launch control, a baseline run is recorded by simply loading the transmission against the brake to build a few revs then flooring the throttle and letting the car do the rest. That baseline is pretty impressive, the RS5 managing 4.1sec from 0-60mph, 4.2sec from 0-100km/h and a 12.3sec quarter mile at 186.3km/h.

The idea was then to test the launch control system, however, an ‘oil overfill’ warning (better than underfill!) prevents the system from being activated. This isn’t a huge drama in the RS5, however, as being a torque converter automatic, the launch control closely mimics the more traditional method.

The automatic allows just over 3000rpm to be built at a standstill, at which point those 600Nm rocket the RS5 from the line, all four wheels spinning slightly in first before each gear is eaten in rapid succession like an Audi-badged Pac-Man.

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Launch control or not, the RS5 hit 60mph in 3.7sec, 100km/h in 3.8sec – a tenth faster than its claim – and a 12.0sec quarter mile at 186.6km/h, numbers it more or less backs up (albeit a tenth slower) on the next run. On the return, it flies through 80-120km/h in just 2.4sec and the carbon-ceramic brakes pull it up in 36.8m.

There is a really simple way to cut some time of your acceleration runs, however, and that’s called ‘rollout’. It’s a drag racing term, referring to the distance between a car triggering all the start lights and then actually crossing the start line and starting the clock.

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As we use satellite-based timing gear, which starts recording the moment the car moves, we don’t traditionally use rollout, but given doing so is as simple as pressing a button on the DriftBox we thought it would be interesting to do a run and show the difference.

US media outlets in particular favour using rollout and the RS5 clearly illustrates why American figures are often eye-poppingly quick! Rollout activated, 60mph flashes up in just 3.4sec, 100km/h is passed in 3.6sec and the quarter-mile takes 11.8sec at 187.09km/h. Straight away, two tenths of a second for free.

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If you consider a car being measured with rollout to 60mph versus one measured without rollout to 100km/h, the difference is a substantial four-tenths of a second: 3.4 vs 3.8sec. Regardless, as mentioned at the top, the answer to the question “how quick is the Audi RS5 Coupe?” is “very!”