Audi

There was a time when an Audi RS model announced itself with little more than a swollen set of wheel arches and the faint whiff of mischief. Now it arrives armed with a charging cable, a 400-volt electrical system and enough computing power to run a modest space programme.

This is the new Audi RS 5, Audi Sport’s first high-performance plug-in hybrid and it produces a faintly ridiculous 470 kW, or 630 bhp in old money. Which is to say, quite a lot.

There are few things that mark the height of the British summer season quite like the Royal Charity Polo Cup at Guards Polo Club – particularly when HRH The Prince of Wales is playing a few lively chukkas and Audi is co-sponsoring the affair. And as someone whose heart (and garage) has long belonged to Audi, it was rather a full-circle moment.

From Walnut Veneer to Climate Control: My Audi Love Story

It’s universally accepted that supercar ownership remains the stuff of dreams for many and a hard-earned reality for the few. But perhaps the time has come to readdress that narrative? Audi certainly thinks so and their latest RS e-tron GT makes a compelling argument that the supercar moniker is an open definition.

So, we took the eco-friendly electric Audi Q8 e-tron SUV mountain biking in the Surrey Hills. The tracks there are amazing, maintained by hordes of unsung workers who landscape the hills for downhill descents—quite illegally but with great skill. Afterwards, we toured Norwich for a little history and culture. We're not just muscle-bound jocks, you know.

The Audi e-tron GT is a razor-sharp katana on 20-inch wheels, with a hint of Iron Man's mask. Interesting as we first saw this car driven by Tony Stark in Avengers: End Game. The first electric car that achieves supercar beauty. The Vorsprung Durch Technik designers have smashed this out of the park and straight into the future. 

Audi’s revised RS5 is a beautiful machine. Purposeful, powerful, brutally efficient and superbly well built.