Three Generations of Audi RS 5 Drag Race, and the Slowest One Steals the Show

[Source: Carwow/YouTube]

Progress is easy to measure when you’re talking about straight-line speed. Put three generations of Audi RS 5 next to each other, drop the flag, and the newest car should win. That’s exactly what happened when Carwow lined up three generations of Audi’s performance coupe for a drag race. Although it was closer than you might think.

However, the stopwatch doesn’t tell the entire story. The newest RS 5 brings some serious firepower. Its 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V6 is paired with an electric motor to produce more than 630 horsepower. All that power reaches all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. The downside is weight. Thanks in part to the hybrid hardware, the new RS 5 tips the scales at around 2.4 tons.

The previous-generation RS 5 also uses a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6, but without hybrid assistance. It produces 450 horsepower while weighing roughly 1.7 tons. Then there’s the original RS 5, which takes a completely different approach. A naturally aspirated 4.2-liter V8 producing 450 horsepower, paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Faster Isn’t Everything

Once the cars got clean launches, the result wasn’t particularly surprising. The new RS5 covered the standing quarter mile in 11.8 seconds, followed by the previous-generation car at 12.2 seconds. The original V8 RS5 was a distant third at 13.8 seconds. That’s a full two seconds behind the newest car. Case closed, right? Not quite.

During the races, the old RS 5 reminded everyone that there’s more to a performance car than a number on a timing board. As its naturally aspirated V8 climbed through the rev range, you could hear it making the most beautiful sound. The owner revealed that the exhaust isn’t even dramatically modified, it has a resonator delete but retains the rear muffler, another resonator, and two sets of catalytic converters. The noises it makes are absolutely glorious.

There’s no arguing with the stopwatch. Three generations of development have made the RS5 substantially quicker. The newest car is more powerful, more sophisticated, and objectively faster. But sometimes finishing first isn’t the same thing as stealing the show.