The Audi RS Models: A New Era for Super Saloons?

There's no denying that the Audi RS models have become incredibly popular in recent years, with their powerful engines and advanced technology making them a favorite among driving enthusiasts. However, as much as I admire these cars, I've always felt that they've lost some of the rawness and excitement that made the proper Super Saloon so addictive. Take the early M5s, for example – those were truly great cars that felt like Supercars with a saloon body on. The last truly great one, in my opinion, was the V10 M5, which boasted an incredible 500 horsepower and drove like a rocket ship.

Now, Infinity is taking on the mantle of creating a Super Saloon that's sure to bring back that magic. With a GTR engine at its heart, this car promises to be a proper mad supercar with a saloon body on. The latest generation of Audi RS models have broadened their remit, introducing adaptive dampers and other advanced technology that sets them apart from the rest. However, as much as I admire these cars, they've lost some of the rawness and excitement that made the proper Super Saloon so addictive.

Infinity's take on a Super Saloon is a car that just up there with the GTR in terms of sheer performance potential. The 3.8L twin-turbo V6 engine produces an astonishing 560 horsepower, while the seven-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive system from the Q70 provide incredible grip and traction. This isn't just a GTR with a saloon car body – it's a highly detailed job that requires a lot of skill and expertise to get right.

As I spent some time in this prototype, I couldn't help but feel that there was something missing. The engine's performance is incredibly strong, with 0-60mph taking just 4.5 seconds, but the mid-range torque feels a bit strangled compared to the GTR. The handling balance is almost too safe, with a bit of understeer when you get on the power early enough – it needs some work before it feels as exciting as the best of these super saloons.

However, there's no denying that this car has a lot of potential. The high-speed balance is incredible, with the damping and fix-rate dampers providing a level of refinement that's hard to find in most other production cars. Ray Malik's race outfit has been involved in the engineering process, which gives me confidence that this car will be a real contender when it hits the market.

So what changes can we expect for the final car? For starters, I'd love to see a quicker gearbox – perhaps one from the AMG lineup, which could provide an extra gear or two to really make this car sing. The four-wheel drive system is superb, but it needs some work to feel as aggressive and responsive as the GTR. Additionally, I think Infinity need to find the bravery to let this car do what it really has the potential to do – rather than holding back and playing it safe.

One area where the car excels is in its braking performance. The brakes are truly superb, with stability and feedback that's hard to match in most other production cars. It just feels like this car is being held back somehow, waiting for Infinity to unleash its full potential. I have no doubt that this car has the potential to be absolutely Mega – it just needs a bit of courage and faith from its creators.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enfeels like we're living through a golden age of the Super Saloon the M5 is an absolute monster there are so many amgs it's hard to keep up with all the different variations there's the Audi RS models but for me the latest generation of these super saloons they've broadened the remit so much with adaptive dampers and all those other bits of Technology but some of the rawness that made the proper Super Saloon so addictive those early m5s been lost and the last truly great one for me was the V10 M5 loved that car it felt like a Supercar with a saloon body on well this is Infinity's take on a Super Saloon and it might just bring back that magic because just up there is a GTR engine and this thing promises to be a proper mad super car Super Saloon so we've got the 3.8 L twin turbo V6 560 odd horsepower in this car and 440 foot hasn't got the twin clutch gearbox there's no room for it in this thing so it's got a seven-speed auto box from the Q70 and it's got the Q70 four-wheel drive system as well so not that super super sophisticated complicated and hugely expensive GTR system this is a prototype they are hoping to build this car but we've got hardly any time in it just a couple of hours to do Stills for the magazine and video so this is not going to be a super extensive review I'm afraid but it gives us a taste of this o Rouge a maybe of what Infinity how they going to change their brand values with this car so I guess I was hoping that this thing would bring back that attitude and that Precision of the V10 M5 obviously reinvented Ed for a different package a different time but actually you can tell this is not just a GTR with a saloon car body it's much more detailed job than that and that means it's more refined and it doesn't have that agility I was hoping for like I said this is a prototype and they're they're still toying with the formula seeing what they're going to do in the final production car which they hope to build for me to get people out of m5s and M3s and e63s and all those cars and into an Infinity it needs to be mad it needs to be Bonkers it needs to have some of that GTR craziness about it and although the performance is there from the engine just feels a little strangled in the mid-range compared to a GTR the handling balance is almost too safe there's a bit of UND can make it over steer if you get on the power early enough but this four-wheel drive system lifting from the Q70 needs some work before it feels as exciting as the best of these super saloons is having said that the high-speed balance of this car the damping it's got fix rate dampers at the moment there probably will be switchable dampers in the final version but these are sort of the sport setup of the final car I guess and that all feels really really good the car's been engineered by Ray Malik race outfit in Welling only about 5 miles from Evo actually so uh they really know what they're doing and uh it feels really together for a prototype I just want it to have a bit more bite I think they just need to turn everything up a bit the noise the aggression the tur in response maybe the adjustability as well the chassis just needs a bit more of that detail that feeling of involvement so what changes do we know are coming for the final car if it gets signed off and let's let's hope it does cuz this car it's got loads of potential well it needs a quicker gear box they haven't got the room for the GTR twin clutch hopefully with they're tie up with dler Mercedes they might be able to get the seven-speed box from the AMG cars cuz it needs that extra speed just to make the car feel more responsive more exciting like I said the the actual way it covers ground is really impressive the highp speed stuff the front end's superb there a degree of adjustability into the corner you feel the tail go loose but then you get back on the power and too much power's been shifted to the front so the balance ends up with a bit too much under steer in slow and medium speed other good stuff on this car well the brakes are superb they really wanted to work on that and get proper GTR spec performance and I think they've got that and you can tell there's a sort of race team behind it in the way the brakes perform stability fantastic it just feels like this car is being held back somehow I think infinti need to find The Bravery to to just go for it with this car this could be absolutely Mega and they need to set it free let it do what it really has the potential to dofeels like we're living through a golden age of the Super Saloon the M5 is an absolute monster there are so many amgs it's hard to keep up with all the different variations there's the Audi RS models but for me the latest generation of these super saloons they've broadened the remit so much with adaptive dampers and all those other bits of Technology but some of the rawness that made the proper Super Saloon so addictive those early m5s been lost and the last truly great one for me was the V10 M5 loved that car it felt like a Supercar with a saloon body on well this is Infinity's take on a Super Saloon and it might just bring back that magic because just up there is a GTR engine and this thing promises to be a proper mad super car Super Saloon so we've got the 3.8 L twin turbo V6 560 odd horsepower in this car and 440 foot hasn't got the twin clutch gearbox there's no room for it in this thing so it's got a seven-speed auto box from the Q70 and it's got the Q70 four-wheel drive system as well so not that super super sophisticated complicated and hugely expensive GTR system this is a prototype they are hoping to build this car but we've got hardly any time in it just a couple of hours to do Stills for the magazine and video so this is not going to be a super extensive review I'm afraid but it gives us a taste of this o Rouge a maybe of what Infinity how they going to change their brand values with this car so I guess I was hoping that this thing would bring back that attitude and that Precision of the V10 M5 obviously reinvented Ed for a different package a different time but actually you can tell this is not just a GTR with a saloon car body it's much more detailed job than that and that means it's more refined and it doesn't have that agility I was hoping for like I said this is a prototype and they're they're still toying with the formula seeing what they're going to do in the final production car which they hope to build for me to get people out of m5s and M3s and e63s and all those cars and into an Infinity it needs to be mad it needs to be Bonkers it needs to have some of that GTR craziness about it and although the performance is there from the engine just feels a little strangled in the mid-range compared to a GTR the handling balance is almost too safe there's a bit of UND can make it over steer if you get on the power early enough but this four-wheel drive system lifting from the Q70 needs some work before it feels as exciting as the best of these super saloons is having said that the high-speed balance of this car the damping it's got fix rate dampers at the moment there probably will be switchable dampers in the final version but these are sort of the sport setup of the final car I guess and that all feels really really good the car's been engineered by Ray Malik race outfit in Welling only about 5 miles from Evo actually so uh they really know what they're doing and uh it feels really together for a prototype I just want it to have a bit more bite I think they just need to turn everything up a bit the noise the aggression the tur in response maybe the adjustability as well the chassis just needs a bit more of that detail that feeling of involvement so what changes do we know are coming for the final car if it gets signed off and let's let's hope it does cuz this car it's got loads of potential well it needs a quicker gear box they haven't got the room for the GTR twin clutch hopefully with they're tie up with dler Mercedes they might be able to get the seven-speed box from the AMG cars cuz it needs that extra speed just to make the car feel more responsive more exciting like I said the the actual way it covers ground is really impressive the highp speed stuff the front end's superb there a degree of adjustability into the corner you feel the tail go loose but then you get back on the power and too much power's been shifted to the front so the balance ends up with a bit too much under steer in slow and medium speed other good stuff on this car well the brakes are superb they really wanted to work on that and get proper GTR spec performance and I think they've got that and you can tell there's a sort of race team behind it in the way the brakes perform stability fantastic it just feels like this car is being held back somehow I think infinti need to find The Bravery to to just go for it with this car this could be absolutely Mega and they need to set it free let it do what it really has the potential to do\n"