“I make no bones about the fact that the RS4 is my favourite Quattro-equipped Audi of all time”; that was the verdict following our drive of the current-generation RS4 Avant. The brand with the four rings’s performance-focused midsize wagon truly feels special; many might argue even more so than its German Big Three rivals from Affalterbach and Munich — you know, the Mercedes-AMG C63 and BMW M3, the latter of which will soon be available in Touring guise locally. The RS4 Avant is less powerful, though…
However, the Ingolstadt automaker has now revealed a new, more powerful (than the standard RS4 Avant) derivative. It comes in the shape of the RS4 Avant edition 25 years, which, you guessed it, commemorates 25 years of the RS4 namesake. Only 250 examples will be made. In addition, it has been equipped with a variety of performance-enhancing upgrades. But first, let’s take a “look” under the bonnet of this anniversary edition.
For the RS4 Avant edition 25 years, Audi has tweaked the sonorous 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged V6 to the tune of 346 kW, a 15 kW increase over the standard B9 generation’s 331 kW. Peak torque has remained 600 N.m.
Although 15 kW might not seem that much, thanks to the power enhancement, four-tenths of a second has been shaved off the original version’s claimed 0-100 km/h sprint time. According to the German marque, the limited edition accelerates to the three figure marker from a standstill in 3.7 seconds.
At the same time, the maximum speed has been lifted. The RS4 Avant edition 25 years tops out at 300 km/h. That’s 50 km/h more than the standard (electronically governed) top speed and 20 km/h more when the standard derivative is specified with the optional RS dynamic package.
In addition to the performance enhancements, the special edition has gained a raft of upgrades to provide improved stopping power, handling, and more. This includes the fitment of carbon-ceramic brakes. The suspension has been lowered by 10 mm. What’s more, the latter can be manually lowered by another 10 mm. Stiffer control arms have also been installed for improved handling.
As standard, this model ships with two sets of 20-inch alloy wheels, wrapped in Pirelli P Zero Corsa and Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS semi-slick tyres, respectively.
