Editing PlacenciaAbrams586

It’s the Audi S7 which, alongside the Audi S6 and Audi S8, is arriving in the UK as I write. All three share the same base engine: a twin-turbo V8 that replaces the V10 in the old S6 and S8. The ‘7’ doesn’t have a natural predecessor because it’s a new model but, as you’d expect given its architecture, it shares more with the S6 than the S8.

That means the 4.0-litre engine under its nose develops 414bhp and drives through a seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic gearbox in a car that, on the EU’s official set of scales, tips at just over two tonnes. A liberal dousing of interior carbonfibre makes no difference to anything but aesthetics.

That’s a lot of weight, then, despite some aluminium in the body, but you’d expect that. The S7 carries a lot of kit, I suppose; quattro with a self-locking centre diff is standard, as is a sports rear differential with torque vectoring, which we know makes a big difference to the RS5’s agility.