The New Audi RS5 Is Heavier Than a Ford F-150

It's important to acknowledge two key facts before getting into why Audi thinks the RS5's weight gain is acceptable: the earth is getting really hot, and sports cars are fun. These two truths are at odds, and automakers are trying to figure out how to curb emissions and keep the fun. BMW and Audi appear to think adding weight by way of hybridization is a solution. The new RS5 weighs a ridiculous 5,192 pounds. It's a full 1,376 pounds heavier than the outgoing RS5 Sportback. In a deleted post on LinkedIn, Audi Sport’s Managing Director, Rolf Michl, says that the PHEV hardware doesn't come into the equation to the detriment of performance.

Audi says weight can't be the enemy of performance anymore

Generally speaking, weight introduces a host of real problems into the performance car equation, from slower acceleration to increased consumables (tires, brakes) wear, to a loss of that fizzy feeling you get when you drive a sporty car. Michl's now deleted post says the brand has instead managed to bring the best of both worlds to the new RS5, adding performance (and consequently weight) while keeping the whole package nimble:

German go-fast brands add mass all the time

This isn't a new problem in the world of German performance cars. In fact, time is frequently kind to some of Germany's fattest sports cars. The E60 BMW M5 was massively heavier than the old E39 generation it replaced, and yet the car is largely remembered fondly now (though no doubt helped by its tremendous V10). The BMW M3 grows ever fatter and receives praise every year. Audi's sportiest usually do too, thanks to the brand's weight-multiplying all-wheel-drive system in years past. Enthusiasts love an Audi wagon, and it'd be ridiculous to sit here and say the RS6 Avant, at 4,982 pounds, is a lightweight.

But it gets to a point. The latest M5 and its hybrid system were broadly criticized for lacking a lot of the basics that make a sports car fun: good steering, an engaging drivetrain, and the like. Instead, it felt numb and heavy. Speed, yes, but at a cost. At Audi, the cost is that a gas-powered F-150 is lighter than the brand's sports sedan. But automakers must curb their emissions, or there won't be anywhere pretty to drive a fun car. Brands are still working out how to introduce fun and reduce emissions, and it remains to be seen whether the latest RS5 is able to pull that off.