Let’s say that you’re out in the market for a really fast four-seater coupe but you don’t want a BMW M4 or a Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe. Your only options -if you live in Europe- are either the Audi RS5 or the Lexus RC-F.
The Audi RS5 is the latest member of this segment and has already been criticized for being much less of a sports car compared to the benchmarks, despite being blindingly quick off the line.
Audi reckons it’ll do 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds, thanks to the combination of a 444hp twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6, an eight-speed automatic gearbox and the latest version of the trademark Quattro all-wheel drive.
Perhaps it’s not Audi’s fault for the aforementioned criticisms as the company was first to acknowledge that the new RS5 is supposed to be “the gran turismo model in the RS lineup”, which is a fancy way of saying you shouldn’t expect the same driving thrills with an M4 or a C63.
That doesn’t mean that it’s a bad car though, only one that’s not as sharp as the best ones in the class. And then there’s the Lexus RC-F, a fast coupe with the visual presence of a…clown, especially with that exposed carbon bonnet.
Lexus hasn’t made many friends with its busy design language but everyone agrees that a car powered by this naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 is one that deserves respect. On paper it might have more power than the RS5 but the combination of the heavy body with the lack of torque in the low rev range might not impress you, especially after driving the Audi.
Autocar tries to find out which one is better on their latest review below.