Car Guy Magazine Car Guy Magazine Issue 914 | Page 42

WORDS Kristin Treager, 2013 PCA GTC4 National Champion PHOTOS Timothy Miller

Hello Gorgeous!
W

hen I first saw the Audi RS5,
I exclaimed (in my best Barbara Streisand voice), “hello
gorgeous!” Not only is the RS5 visually
striking, but it’s paired with one heck
of a power plant. Under the hood
you will find a 4.2 Liter engine which
produces 450 horsepower. This is the
same motor that is featured in the
popular Audi R8 super car...that’s pretty exciting considering this is a passenger vehicle! Though the engine is
impressive, what really makes this car
special is its transmission. The RS5 features a seven speed dual clutch automatic transmission with paddle shifters. As a race car driver, I am skeptical
about streetcars with paddle shifters. They often won’t let you up shift
when you want nor downshift when
you want, completely defeating the
purpose of having paddle shifters in
the first place. But the RS5 rises above
this common problem. The CPU will
protect you from over revving the
motor, yet for the most part, the computer will let you downshift when
you desire. The car even has an automatic blipper which rev matches your
downshift for a seamless transition.

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My only complaint is that if you neglect to use the paddles for an extended period of time, the car reverts
back to automatic mode...even with
the “dynamic” setting selected. My
suggestion to Audi...“let me do what
I want to do!” If I want to be in automatic mode I’ll change it myself! Also,
the display screen doesn’t conspicuously show you what gear you’re in
while using the paddles. There is a
teeny-tiny little number that you have
to search for on the screen. And really,
who has time to play hide and seek
with the display screen when you’re
taking a late apex turn at 90 mph?
That being said, the dynamic duo of
the R8 engine and 7 speed transmission results in extremely quick acceleration. The kind of acceleration that
any race car driver and wanna be race
car driver can appreciate. At 75 miles
per hour, the aerodynamic system
deploys. The integrated wing spoiler
raises up automatically to increase