Audi RS4 Avant and RS5 ‘Competition Pack’ to better challenge the BMW M3 / M4

The Audi RS 4 and RS 5 get a Competition Pack model with suspension changes, more noise, ceramic brakes and more to take on the BMW M3/M4.

Audi’s RS 4 Avant and RS 5 are aimed at BMW’s M3 and M4, but the current generation, with its 2.9-litre V6, doesn’t hold quite the appeal of the previous V8-engined versions and feels a lot ‘softer’ than before.

But Audi has a plan to change that – and challenge the BMW competition – with new ‘Competition Pack’ models offering a more hardcore alternative.

The headline act for the new Competition models is new Coilover suspension with a higher spring rate with re-calibrated dampers and stiffer anti-roll bars.

The new suspension lowers the suspension by 10mm, and another 10mm can be dialled in, with new 20″ alloys and carbon-ceramic brakes in the mix, as well as a revised set-up for the Dynamic Steering and tweaked Sport Diff.

Audi has left the engine alone – it’s 2.9-litre V6 still delivering 444bhp and 442lb/ft of torque – but tweaks to the auto ‘box’s shift patterns have yielded a cut in 0-62mph times by 0.2 seconds on the RS 4 and 0.1 seconds on the RS 5. There’s also a new RS Sports Exhaust system and the removal of some sound deadening to amplify the noise.

It looks like the Competition Pack models will be a limited edition run in the UK, with prices likely to be around £10k more than the regular RS models when they arrive later in the year.