Audi RS4 edition 25 years resurrects Imola Yellow
Iconic paint, more power and all the Competition goodies promise much for Audi's RS4 farewell - at a price
Nice car, the Audi RS4 Competition, bringing some much-needed life to what has always been a fairly subdued fast estate. Its problems were availability (only 75 came here) and a colour palette straight from the Henry Ford School of Marketing: you had a black RS4 Competition, or you didn’t have one. Disappointing. But there’s good news for fans of the Comp, as its spec - plus a little bit extra - is back for the RS4 edition 25 years. And would you just look at it?
Yep, Imola Yellow has returned, a paint made famous by the original B5 RS4 that this 250-unit special celebrates. It’s never looked better. Buyers are being offered Nardo Grey and Mythos Black as well, but let’s hope very few take Audi up on it. That would make this look like any other RS4; the yellow immediately marks it out as something different. And brilliant. Audi is even going to offer an all-suede wheel for this car (as a €2,270 option), just like the B5, and it comes with a yellow centre marking. They recommend wearing gloves when driving with it. Everything is geared up (including the leather stitching on the carbon-backed bucket seats and floor mat accents) for this RS4 to be yellow.
There’s more to what must be the final B9 RS4 - perhaps the last uber A4 with an engine, in fact - than just the paint, too. Seemingly buoyed by the response to the very decent Competition, Audi has stuffed that hardware under the 25 years edition. So that means the manually adjustable coilovers (aka RS sport suspension pro) that drop the car 10mm lower than standard straight off the bat, with another 10mm possible for the full touring car stance. The eight-speed auto shifts faster, the sport diff has a more rearward bias and the stunning milled wheels - complete with Pirelli P Zero Corsas - have also made the switch over. Speaking of rims, buyers of this RS4 will also be provided with a second set of black wheels on Pirelli's P Zero Trofeo RS tyres designed specifically for track use. Got the big boot to carry them in, at least. The tyres are sensitised, too, and talk to the Pirelli Track Adrenaline app with real-time info for tyre management. Serious much? And you’ll get Alpinestars race gloves to show off in the paddock. Yellow accented, of course.
This isn’t just a yellow Competition with gloves thrown in, either (though that alone would be quite nice) as the 25 years benefits from another 20 horsepower plus extra negative camber on the front axle. Gotta question who these enthusiasts are and what they’ve done with the Audi people. There are two degrees more, which will surely further help turn in already improved by the Comp, plus there are stiffer control arms and a ‘firmly fixed subframe on the rear axle’. Make you wonder how it was fixed before, but the promise of more precise feedback is welcome. The 470hp means 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds, with a hearty 186mph top speed as well.
In case the yellow doesn’t identify this Audi, it also has a black inlay in the rear lights, black badges (including ‘RS4 edition 25 years’ by the rear window), carbon accents, and the roof rails removed for a ‘flatter, sportier silhouette’. Which seems a bit of a strange move. Each will be individually numbered with a plaque inside - no ‘one of 250’ nonsense here - as well as boast the option through the MMI infotainment to make the dials black-on-white like an RS2. Feels like some people really cared much more about this than they strictly needed to.
Alongside the 250 RS4s will be 250 RS4 watches - or Chronograph RS4 edition 25 years to give the timepiece its proper name. It has a carbon dial, leather strap and yellow details, though doesn’t sound like it’s included in the price. Speaking of which... Those that like yellow RS4s are going to have to pay for it: the 25 years is €142,905, or £122,500 at current rates. The UK will be getting 50 cars, priced at £115,880 for solid Nardo Grey (no thanks), £116,555 for metallic Mythos Black (pass) or, um, £119,180 for the Imola. So you're going to have to really, really like RS4s (and yellow): that's 50 per cent more than a Competition was. It looks especially punchy, in fact, with none of the funky options like the suede wheel, watch or race gloves available here. Audi is also launching an RS5 Performance alongside the RS4, with the power and suspension upgrades, if anyone’s interested - just 10 are coming to the UK. No yellow for that one though, sadly.
It’s going to all go pop sometime soon.
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