Audi’s S cars have always been sort of a individual’s choice. Sure for pure driving dynamics there are BMW’s and Porsche’s to consider, but there is something very special about Audi’s ability to create real “wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing” type of cars.

When I was in Germany riding sport bikes on the Autobahn a few years ago, I asked our tour guide which cars I should expect to be overtaken by at these speeds. He said, “forget the Porsche’s and Ferrari’s, look out for those crazy maniacs in those Audi wagons, they’re the fast ones…” Wagons?!? You got to be kidding, right?  But how wrong I was, as before I could even argue otherwise a bright red S4 wagon blew by us like we were standing still (we’re on high-performance sport bikes by the way…) at what seemed like close to Mach-3. “You see!,” said my German guide, “You don’t expect those things to be sooo fast and they kinda sneak up on you…”

I was in awe ever since. The allure of frustrating the crap out of sports car drivers was too much to resist. I could now see the appeal of these uber Audi’s. Speed and practicality in one sweet looking package, what else could you want? Well as 80’s sensation Billy Idol once sang, “More, more, more, more, more!!!”

The newest Audi S4 sure delivers a whole lot more. Based on the much better balanced B8 Audi chassis, the new S4 is a much more composed platform for performance. All new revised suspension and a chassis with almost perfect 50/50 weight distribution helps quell the notorious understeer fast Audi’s were once prone to. A new transmission design helps move the engine farther back into the engine bay further benefiting the cars on-the-limit handling.

This newest S4 once again calls on the powers of forced induction to help deliver performance hand-in-hand with efficiency. Foregoing the last S4’s 4.2-liter V8 for a return to a forced induction V6, this time the boost comes courtesy of a roots-type supercharge instead of two turbos. The result is 329hp and 324ft-lbs of torque from almost no revs. With no need to “spool-up” as with a turbocharger, turbo-lag is non-existent. Even though this engine makes about ten less horses than the big V8 it replaces, it slashes a half a second from it’s 0-60mph run (5.1 v.s 5.6) and is almost a second quicker through the quarter mile run. You can thank the 250 pound diet this car’s been on for this rejuvenation in performance.

Of course, Audi’s famous Quattro all-wheel-drive is standard. On S models though, there is a new performance split in the differential which sends 60% of the car’s power towards the rear wheels under normal driving and can send up to 100% in performance driving. An optional, and surprisingly cheap, performance differential by Magna can also be ordered for around $900. The Magna differential shifts torque across the rear wheels, accelerating the outside rear wheel to push you through a curve thoroughly enhancing the driving dynamics of the car. It’s a worthwhile option.
What’s the most impressive though, is the low numbers this car generates in consumption. Audi is estimating this car with a manual transmission will achieve 17 mpg EPA city and an incredible 32 mpg EPA highway in the U.S. That averages out to an impressive 25mpg overall. With numbers like that, you could really make a sports car driver jealous.

Though they will sport a base price of around $49,000, don’t expect to get one home for less than $58-60,000 once the dealers option them out the wazzoo. Most buyers of these cars get them fully loaded anyway, so it’s only natural for dealers to order them optioned out. Still, for the price you get to embarrass a few drivers of “real sports cars” and isn’t that what driving a car like this is all about?

-Source: Edmunds’s Inside Line 

–Photo: Audi USA