TOYBOX
A HOT AUDI, AN ANGRY ASTON & TWO DEMENTED DIESEL TRUCKS
BACK IN 2009, stylist Walter de Silva was asked which of his designs he was most proud of. His response was unambiguous. “The Audi A5 coupe is the most beautiful car I have ever designed,” the Italian head of Volkswagen Design said. With a resume that included the Alfa Romeo 156, the Audi R8 and the Lamborghini Miura concept, that was quite an accolade. Introduced in 2007, the A5 coupe was a modest success at first, its sales stepping into another gear when the five-door A5 Sportback variant joined the fray. The hotter version, the S5 always had a reputation as a fast car that didn’t quite cut the mustard as a sports car. That was to misunderstand its remit though. The S5 was and is a GT car and a damn fine one at that.
The latest S5 is all new. Out goes the supercharged three-litre V6 and in comes a lightweight turbocharged six-pot. Power steps up from 245 to 260kW in the process, torque jumps from 440 to 500Nm, the kerb weight is shaved by 60kg and the result is a car that’s quicker than the last RS4 wagon. All good stuff. The numbers tell one story, but does the S5 deliver from a sensory perspective. Beauty is clearly in the eye of the beholder, but to this particular beholder, the styling just isn’t as elegant as before.
Part of the appeal of the A5 was that it was a German car that didn’t look German. There was a delicacy of line, a certain voluptuous quality to its curves that was so different to the macho angles of rival German sports sedans. Even in punchy S5 guise, there was a beguiling femininity to its shape. That’s not quite so evident anymore. There’s a slabby heaviness around the superstructure now, with sharper creases raking the flanks. It’s undeniably handsome but no longer quite so distinctive.
Drop inside and it looks a million dollars although the naked carbon-fibre dash seems a rare bum note from Audi, like a punter wearing race booties to watch the Grand Prix. Materials quality is predictably good and the full width LCD Virtual Cockpit is a lovely thing, capable of filling the binnacle with a highresolution Google Maps image flanked by subtle clocks. It’s bigger inside than before, with plenty of headroom thanks