Audi RS4 (B7) | Spotted

Name a more desirable 21st century Audi. We'll wait...

By Matt Bird / Wednesday, 24 December 2025 / Loading comments

A new year will bring a new Audi RS model, and the upcoming RS5 - as the RS4 replacement will be known, because the standard saloon and Avant are A5s - has some job to do. It needs to be as good, surely, as the excellent BMW M3, and atone for a slightly underwhelming B9 generation. That alongside introducing PHEV technology to an Audi Sport flagship, while being as fast, efficient, smart and safe as a new car at almost £100,000 in 2026 needs to be. Tough is only the beginning.

What Audi really needs right now is a repeat of its B7 RS4 moment. 20 years ago, not a great deal was expected from the second RS4 as a driver’s car. The first version was a mighty ground coverer, as was the bigger RS6, but neither were hugely involving steers. The V8-powered S4 was cut from a similar cloth. And then along came the RS, also with a V8 way up front and also with quattro - it didn’t bode brilliantly well.

But that car, as has been discussed at length over the past two decades, totally confounded expectations of the Audi RS saloon, and became the benchmark against which all others have subsequently been judged. While the B7 wasn’t some wild, M3-style drift machine, it was supple, cohesive and balanced in a way that fast Audis just weren’t. All the controls were beautifully in sync, the ride and handling compromise was perfectly struck, and it cornered unbelievably well given where the engine was located.

What an engine, too. Fitting a 100hp-per-litre, 8,250rpm V8 in a suave saloon was already a stroke of genius; pairing it exclusively to a manual gearbox secured the B7 RS4 icon status. Even BMW wasn’t that courageous when it came to making its own eight-cylinder M3 saloon. The combination of a sorted chassis, stellar powertrain and chiselled good looks made it a legend almost in its own lifetime. All the new car needs to do is repeat the B7’s achievement..

Because this RS4 was so good, and because nothing quite like it ever happened again, they’re desirable old Audis these days. In days of lockdowns and social distancing, £12k was your entry point; today the cheapest is £14k, and that’s for a 160,000-mile car. While they aren’t soaring like some cars of the same era, a nice saloon or Avant with less than 100k is now a £20k prospect, and comparable to a newer B8 RS4 with similar miles. It seems unlikely any money will be lost on a B7 now (except to whoever supplies your local super unleaded).

This one is a stunner, an early Misano Red example that benefits from perhaps the best stance a B7 has ever had thanks to Koni suspension and wheels from the most recent B9 generation. You almost wouldn’t want to sit in it, for fear of spoiling the arch gap. And because then you wouldn’t be able to see the much-loved wingback seats, here with Audi Exclusive upholstery. MRC has freed some extra power from the V8, it was serviced a thousand miles ago, and the MOT history looks great. Some B7s, passed from pillar to post over the years, look a bit rough these days; this is totally the opposite. Indeed, it would surely be hard to covet very much more from a modern classic saloon - that’s how good the B7 RS4 was. And don’t be surprised if, when the 2026 RS5 is here, the old stager is discussed at length all over again.

SPECIFICATION | AUDI RS4 (B7)

Engine: 4,163cc V8,
Transmission: Six-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 420@7,800rpm
Torque (lb ft): 317@5,500rpm
MPG: 20.9
CO2: 322g/km
First registered: 2006
Recorded mileage: 75,569
Price new: £50,730
Yours for: £24,450