It’s nice to see a sports car that really looks like a sports car. If I were on the lookout for a luxurious and powerful sports car, I’d make sure that I got one that looked the part, but without being vulgar and ostentatious. And I’d go for a convertible. Sports cars are about driving for pleasure, after all, and I like to be able to smell things as I drive: gum trees, a garden full of magnolias, the sea air along the coast, the spices from the local Indian restaurant… And one vehicle that I would very, very much like Santa to slip onto my stocking come Christmas time when it finally makes it Down Under is the Audi RS5 Cabriolet. In bright scarlet, of course.

It would have to be a big stocking, though. The designers have widened the body of the Audi RS5 Cabriolet to give it that impressive presence that a powerful and luxurious sports car ought to have. Sitting proudly on 19-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels the Audi RS5 Cabriolet simply oozes charisma. And that’s not the only thing to love about the styling. It’s sleek. It’s smooth. It’s beautiful. One thing that adds that super-sporty styling without being vulgar is the carbon fibre rear-lip spoiler, which gives the Audi RS5 Cabriolet the right sort of styling without adding any extra weight and putting extra demands on the engine and fuel consumption – that’s the real beauty of carbon fibre. The soft top is fully insulated and acoustically designed so you don’t get deafened by the concrete drill of the workers beside the road… if they don’t stop to sneak a peek at your Audi RS5 Cabriolet as you drive by. And those adaptive Xenon headlights just about wink at you into the bargain.

The Audi RS5 Cabriolet has been styled to please all the senses. One thing that a lot of overseas reviewers have been raving about is the sound of the engine. The Audi RS5 Cabriolet doesn’t just look like a proper sports car; it also sounds like a proper sports car. Apparently, the designers did something with the twin exhausts at the back (which are very subtly styled in a way that doesn’t interfere with the clean lines of the vehicle) so you can really enjoy the sound of the engine. The engine in question is a 4.2-litre V8 engine that promises to make the Audi RS5 Cabriolet very nippy indeed: it does the 0–100 km/h sprint in a very, very respectable 4.9 seconds (respectable? more like exhilarating), thanks to the maximum of 331 kW available at 8250 rpm. The sound isn’t as deep and as burbly as what you hear with some V8s (e.g. Jaguar). It doesn’t scream, either. It’s more of a baritone than a bass, or possibly even a tenor. The sound is quite warm and even soothing. “Cosy” is the word that springs to mind. It’s comfort food for the ears. It’s the sort of sound that soothes fretful babies. (Now, how’s that for the perfect excuse to take a sports car for a spin every evening?)

I managed to find a YouTube clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja6HL7VH9OY ) that lets you hear the Audi RS5 Cabriolet in action and decide what you think it sounds like as well as get a good look at it. You might need a bucket to drool into, so be warned. The model shown in this clip is a US model, I think, or a European left-hand-drive version, and the clip also gives you a very good look at some of the gadgets and convenience features available, although at the time of writing, Audi Australia was tight-lipped about the full specs and features of what the Down Under versions are going to have.

One of the comfort features of the Audi RS5 Cabriolet that we definitely know we’ll be getting are the S-sport seats which are heated front and rear – just in case you’ve been caught out by a southerly buster and got a bit chilly before you could get the soft top of the Audi RS5 Cabriolet back up again (not that this takes all that long: 17 seconds, and when you want to open it up again, it’s even quicker). Or enjoy the best of both worlds, keeping your top down so you can smell the world around you and keep your head warm at the same time with the heating function.

A rear parking camera is another convenience feature of the Audi RS5 Cabriolet that’s been confirmed as definite. If this is available, then to judge by what’s on the right-hand-drive versions of the Audi RS5 Cabriolet available in the UK, we may also get a 40-GB hard-drive navigation system and a set of speakers of the quality that only German manufacturers can produce with an audio system that’s compatible with nearly everything you can think of AND charges your portable device at the same time. The Lane Assist function and the blind-spot minimising Side Assist are other features available on overseas models that I really hope we’ll get over here – changing lanes is my least favourite manoeuvre, especially as my glasses and my hairstyle cut down on my peripheral vision (but if I had the wind blowing back my hair in a cabriolet…).

The Audi RS5 Cabriolet hasn’t quite made it to Australian shores yet, but the Audi dealers are taking registrations of interest for what is going to be an exclusive and highly sought after vehicle, driven by a lucky few. Wish I could be one of them!

Current model series include:

• Audi RS5 Cabriolet

For any more information on the Audi RS5 Cabriolet, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Audi dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!

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