When most car enthusiasts’ thoughts drift to Audi’s performance cars, most of them are liable to leap straight to the company’s Audi Sport models—the track-crushing R8 super sports car, the autobahn-slaughtering RS 7 hatchback, the pint-sized RS 3 sedan, and so forth. But Audi’s best speedy offerings are arguably found one rung down the performance ladder, in the form of the souped-up-but-still-very-livable S-model vehicles. While not quite as explosive as the RS models, these vehicles—ranging from the peppy S3 to the all-road-capable SQ5 to the highway-devouring S8 Plus—offer a significant increase in performance over their basic siblings at a fairly insignificant increase in price.
Take, for example, the 2018 Audi S5 Coupe seen here: For an extra $8,800 over an equivalent A5—which breaks down monthly to roughly the cost of an additional AT&T wireless bill, over the course of a 60-month purchase agreement—buyers pick up an extra 102 horsepower and 96 pound-feet of torque, bigger brakes, and a gussied-up interior with sport seats that are both supportive and sexy. Not a bad deal for the speed-inclined…even if it does mean giving up the chance to spec an Audi with a six-speed manual, which, amazingly, remains available on the A4 and A5.
As The Drive‘s chief auto critic Lawrence Ulrich pointed out in his review, the two-door hardtop S5 has had some of its thunder stolen by the arrival of the S5 Sportback, which offers equally-sharp looks and all-but-equivalent performance with the added bonus of a usable rear bench. But if you’re the sort of person for whom style takes precedent over backseat space (or who, like your author, has really long limbs and likes to pop an elbow out the window without slamming his tricep against the B-pillar), the S5 coupe brings the presence and style that only a two-door car can deliver. It is the connoisseur’s choice, the car for a man or woman with no need to concern themselves with children, elderly parents, or other dependents.
Rather than rehash Ulrich’s review, however, your humble author instead decided to give you, dear reader, a different taste of the S5 life: a video walk-around highlighting some of the two-door Audi’s more notable features. After all, they say a picture’s worth a thousand words…which means at 24 frames per second, this quick video is basically a novel.
2018 Audi S5 Coupe 3.0T quattro tiptronic – Specs:
Base Price (Price as Tested): $55,575 ($64,750)
Powertrain: 3.0-liter turbocharged V6, 354 horsepower, 369 pound-feet of torque; eight-speed automatic; all-wheel-drive
0-60 MPH: 4.3 seconds
Top Speed: 155 mph (governed)
Fuel Economy: 21 city, 30 highway
Official Name of the Little Button With a Rain Cloud on It Next to the Headlight Switch: “All-Weather Lights”