How to spell Perfection: The new Audi RS 7

 A lot of Audi’s cars sound a lot like a license plate. A3, S3, A8, and my favorite: TT. Only one of the them, the Quattro Sport concept, has really ever had a name that was not something alphanumeric, and that was merely a concept car.  
You can make fun of it really, because a lot of German car fans do. What is most interesting, and the perhaps the biggest news for select buyers in Germany and North America in 2014 is the introduction of a super-duper S (Sport) variant of Audi’s cars. 2012 brought us the V-8-powered RS 5, a Racecar Sport variant of the standard A5. Audi has now brought upon us perhaps the grandest car of its lineup, other than the S8--it is called RS 7.

Behold, a little twin-turbo V-8 powered monster of an automobile. Packing a Goliath of an engine in terms of output, and a Ward’s 10 best award for 2014 for gas-powered V-8s in the small 4-liter class, it produces an astounding, Porsche-envying, 911 Turbo-jealous 560 horsepower. Basically, Audi’s 4-0 V-8 has gone to the gym, and come back with much more than a six pack. In fact, the folks at the Porsche dealer across the street need to be jealous.

 For the first time in history, Audi has built a car that may be more for your money than the top tier 911 Turbo is (520-hp), or the fearsome Turbo S (also 560-hp). 

I’ll let that sink in for a moment. 
The closest competition is the current Porsche Panamera Turbo, with a similar strategy, and I believe approximately the same power, albeit ugly, disgusting styling. This is a short blog celebrating the folks at VW Group for making more Porsche than Porsche is, and badging it an Audi, and giving it very likely the best fuel economy of any car with more than 500 horsepower as notified by the factory, or 450 for that matter. The men behind the desk at Mercedes, BMW, Cadillac (yes, Cadillac), and whatever other competition this raging 2 tons of menace wants to have are scrambling through their papers in desperate efforts to create something as hardcore but also statement-making as this. Yes, the RS 7 is a bit of a heavyweight, weighing about as much as the average Dodge Dakota, at around 4,400 lbs. 
Feeding through a regular 8-speed automatic is an equally impressive 516 pound feet of torque rating. American truck fans have something to be jealous about as well, as this produces waaaaay more torque than any truck makes. Step aside, F-150 EcoBoost.

Beyond the car’s power is the incredible value, believe it or not. Audi has made the next Batmobile--it is very expensive, but in terms of luxury and power, the car can be up there with the desirability of BMW’s ubiquitous M division, or even as hardcore as a Bentley or Rolls-Royce. All of Audi’s finest Truth in Engineering for a rather steep $105,795 as a “base” price, with loaded cars stretching to a bit over $120,000. For this, the only thing that compares in Audi’s stable is the $113,000 S8 barge, or the little-known A8 with the W12 and long wheelbase option, stretching to about $140,000. Audi did it a few years ago with the RS5, and now they have done it again with the RS 7, of course for a price.