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Following the launch last year of the Levante Trofeo with its 580 hp Ferrari-sourced V8 powerplant, the new Quattroporte and Ghibli are now available in top-end Trofeo specification, both fitted with the same 3.8-litre bi-turbo engine.

The Trofeo-badged pair are the fastest standard Maserati production cars yet, capable of a 203 mph top speed. The Ghibli Trofeo (the first Ghibli to feature a V8) can reach 62 mph from a standing start in just 4.3 seconds. The Quattroporte Trofeo takes just 0.2 seconds more.

While Maserati recently launched a mild-hybrid petrol Ghibli as it gears up for a big electrification push, the Italian marque hasn’t forgotten its customers wanting high-performance petrol variants.

Whereas the Levante Trofeo has four-wheel drive, the saloons are rear-wheel-drive, with power sent through a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic gearbox. Peak power of 580 hp arrives at 6,750 rpm, while peak torque of 730Nm is created at 2,250 - 5,250 rpm.

Maserati has added a new Corsa driving mode to both Trofeo super-saloons, which improves throttle and engine responses, quickens gearshifts, fully opens the exhaust valves, stiffens and lowers the suspension and limits the intervention of the electronic chassis control systems. It also includes a Launch Control function.

Both the Ghibli and Quattroporte saloons get muscular styling upgrades to distinguish them from their lesser siblings and improve aerodynamic efficiency and cooling. Larger 21-inch alloys are also fitted. There are sporty new trims and leather sports seats inside to match, along with Maserati’s latest MIA infotainment, which is controlled via an enlarged touchscreen.

Maserati hopes this new sixth-generation four-door will boost its sales, but does it offer the necessary blend of performance and comfort?

The Ghibli and Quattroporte Trofeo are available to buy now, with the former at £103,890 and the latter at £126,890.

To highlight Maserati’s all-Italian identity, the colours chosen for the Trofeo collection launch are those of the country’s flag: green for Quattroporte, white for Levante and red for Ghibli, which combine with the burnished chrome-work and glossy red trims for a particularly aggressive and elegant look.

Ghibli and Quattroporte Trofeo will be built at Maserati’s Avvocato Giovanni Agnelli Plant in Turin, while the Levante Trofeo is built at the Mirafiori plant, also in Turin.

MASERATI: Hardcore Trofeo Ghibli and Quattroporte saloons

The Audi RS5 Sportback is a fast five-door hatchback that's an alternative to more traditional super-saloons
like the BMW M3, Mercedes C63 and Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde.

Review: Audi RS5 Sportback

Tested: Audi RS5 Sportback, Audi Sport Edition

 From the top, it’s important that you know how much I like this car. Enormously, as it turns out. So, you may, at any time prior to the verdict some 1,300-odd words further down, want to revisit this opening paragraph…for the purposes of balance, you understand.

#NotFakeNews: There is such a thing as a car that's too good. Most of the premium quality cars currently available at any price point still carry a few notable flaws – either outright deal breakers or niggly-nagglies – that remind you that humans are still in charge of their respective designs and build.

Rarely does a car come along that makes you wonder if the entire development team was replaced by overly scrutinous androids. The 2019 Audi RS5 Sportback is one such car, and its class-leading antics are almost frustrating in their pitch-perfect execution.

The Audi RS5 Sportback is a fast five-door hatchback that's an alternative to more traditional super-saloons like the BMW M3, Mercedes C63 and Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde. You'll pay more for the Audi than the M3 or Giulia but the Mercedes is slightly more expensive than all three.

In many respects, the RS5 Sportback is identical to its coupe sibling, but has two extra doors and an additional 60mm between the axles for improved rear comfort.

Unlike similar feral products from the likes of BMW M or Mercedes-AMG stables, Audi Sport’s fastest models tend not to look like they could kneecap you for no immediately apparent reason. Their performance-oriented styling is usually more subtle and conducive to flying in under the radar.

But while this RS5 Sportback would likely still come across as the more sophisticated member of a trio comprising a C63 and an M3, the 20in alloy wheels, high-gloss black trim pieces and louder sports exhaust introduced as part of the Audi Sport Edition mean it can still turn heads.

Turning more heads and being the trigger for indiscriminate curb side/traffic light chatter was the Sonoma Green paint colour. While undoubtedly a bold left-field choice, I really loved it and thought it well-suited to the character of the car.

Inside, it’s back to RS5 business as usual for this Sportback model. You get a lovely interior with plenty of plush materials, a slick infotainment system with smartphone mirroring, and Audi’s signature Virtual Cockpit digital driver’s display.

Audi’s top-spec Navigation Plus infotainment system comes as standard, along with the brand’s Virtual Cockpit. This replaces the conventional analogue instrument panel with a 12.3in high-resolution digital display that can show information on speed and revs in the form of conventional gauges; satnav instructions or performance data, or several combinations of each.

The driving position is tough to fault, too, with plenty of seat and steering wheel adjustment and a comfortable backrest that provides plenty of upper back support. You can adjust both the bolster and lumbar support to find a supportive position, and they even have a massage function to accompany the heated elements. 

Even if you’re extremely tall, you’re unlikely to have any complaints about how far your seat slides back or how much room there is above your head, despite how its standard panoramic roof reduces ceiling height compared to the regular A5 Coupe or Sportback.

The Sportback also gains a large rear hatch, making it a truly practical vehicle, despite its 465-litre boot being 15 litres down on the Giulia, M3 and C63. With a bigger boot opening than its saloon rivals, it's easier to load bulky items, and with the rear seats folded down there's space for flat pack furniture and even a bike.

It might have an Audi badge glued onto it, but the RS5’s 2.9-litre V6 petrol engine is shared with the Porsche Panamera 4S. Thanks to its twin turbochargers, this engine delivers 444hp and 442lb/ft (600Nm) of torque and feels much more urgent low down in the rev range than the previous V8-powered RS5.

Even so, it’s worth revving the V6 hard to make the most of its performance. Do this and the quattro four-wheel drive system provides traction to slingshot you off the line, making the 3.9sec 0-62mph time seem entirely plausible – and it’ll top out at a governed 155mph.

Once on the move, though, it never feels quite as quick as an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, BMW M4 Competition Pack or the Mercedes-AMG C63. Mind you, you’ll be in licence-losing territory quicker than you can say Quadrifoglio.

The automatic gearbox has eight well-chosen ratios. It operates smoothly when you’re driving sensibly, although there is a noticeable delay to change down when you ask for a sudden burst of acceleration. It’s smooth and obedient when you take control manually, too, but isn’t quite as snappy to shift as the dual-clutch gearboxes in rivals. 

Set the car into Dynamic mode on the Audi Drive Select system and the automatic gearbox response sharpens up; it’s quicker to change down, allowing much easier overtakes. It also holds onto gears for longer so you can build up through the rev range for even more power.

The Dynamic mode also ramps up the noise from the optional sports exhaust; in this setting, you’ll find the engine howls and parps when you’re revving it, but the downside is a pronounced drone at speed. In Comfort mode, the engine note is more refined, but is sometimes intruded upon by rumbling road noise. 

Dynamic mode also adds weight to the steering, but it’s still quite heavy even in Comfort mode, making it difficult to turn out of T-junctions or parking spaces sharply. Enter a series of corners and you’ll find that it’s easy to place the front of the car, but while the optional Dynamic Steering system (which varies how far you have to turn the wheel, depending on speed) certainly helps you get around tight turns easier, it also reduces the sense of connection with the front wheels and makes it less instinctive to know what they’re doing.

However, no matter how hard you push, the RS5 never feels like it’s going to get too out of shape. Some may miss the sense of adjustability and ‘honed-to-hoon’ dynamism offered by the rear-wheel-drive Guilia, M4 and C63, but in the dry, the traction you get out of corners from Audi’s quattro system is virtually unbeatable.

Fast, frantic but perfectly practical, the Audi RS 5 Sportback aims to be the market's definitive mid-sized high performance five-door hatch. It gets a sophisticated quattro 4WD system and can hit 174mph on the Nürburgring but is just as happy popping to the skip on a weekend, or collecting your dry cleaning. The spec of this revised version looks impressive, including an RS sport exhaust system and a sport differential. You only truly get a sense of just how fast it is by following behind in something else.

Sure. Some alternatives are cheaper and sound more exciting and, while there’s a much-welcomed 60mm more legroom than the coupe, the rear can still feel cramped for those gifted with more height than I (which, to be fair, is pretty much everyone else).

I take nothing away from Audi’s ethos of quality and refinement but, compared with its rivals the RS5 Sportback feels like something of a blunt clinical instrument from behind the wheel, and one that perhaps lacks character. Some may say the RS5’s envelope hasn’t even been opened, let alone pushed.

An Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is more exciting, while the V8-powered Mercedes-AMG C 63 has a greater sense of occasion. But, hey, see paragraph one.

But what other high-performance four-wheel drive mid-sized hatch of this sort is there to challenge this one? The closest thing the market has to offer, a rear-driven Mercedes-AMG C 63 wagon, wouldn't give you the all-round grip and really needs a dry racetrack and a licence to burn rubber if it's to appeal over an RS5 Sportback.

As for a high performance SUV, forget it: you'd be all over the place just trying to keep this Audi in sight. Drive it and you'll experience a slightly guilty thrill as if something this much fun really couldn't be legal. Indeed, one day cars like this might well be legislated out of existence.

In the meantime, enjoy this one while you can. The robot in me loved it.

Fast Facts: Audi RS5 Sportback Sport Edition

Engine: 2.9-litre TFSI twin turbocharged V6.

Transmission: Audi quattro AWD, via 8-speed tiptronic automatic

It’s a debate that’s been ongoing for decades but has rarely come to resolution: which is more important, horsepower or torque? The answer to the question fundamentally depends on what you are trying to achieve.

Horsepower vs Torque - Which is more important? DriverBuddy decyphers this age old myth

It’s a debate that’s been ongoing for decades but has rarely come to resolution: which is more important, Horsepower or Torque?

The answer to the question fundamentally depends on what you are trying to achieve. Firstly, one common misconception is that an engine always produced a certain amount of Horsepower, and a certain amount of torque. The reality is that the figure the manufacturer gives you is only  achieved at Peak Horsepower and Peak Torque respectively, and doesn’t tell you the whole story.

Torque is a measurement of rotational or twisting movement. It defines how much work can be done. It is often described as how strong a vehicle is. It can be calculated by Force x Distance. Imagine a wrench turning a bolt. It you have a wrench that is 1ft long, and you apply 1lb of force at the end of the wrench to turn the bolt, you have applied 1lb/ft (pound-feet) of Torque on the bolt. If you applied 2lbs of force on a wrench 1ft long, you have applied 2lb/ft of torque on the bolt. Similarly, if you apply just 1lb of force, but this time use a wrench that is 2ft long, you are also applying 2lb/ft of Torque. This is called using leverage. To achieve  more Torque, either increase the Force, or the Distance.

In a combustion engine, the cylinders combust (by igniting a fuel/air mix) which forces the cylinder downwards. Each cylinder is connected to the engine’s crankshaft. Torque multiplies the amount of Force generated in the cylinders, by the Distance from the crankshaft to generate the Torque. This is the same concept as when you apply a Force on a wrench to turn a bolt. The more Force, or the more Distance, the higher the Torque. The more Torque, the more rotational movement that can be achieved on the crankshaft, which means the engine can do more work.

If the vehicle is heavy, it will require more work to turn the axle (and so the engine’s crankshaft) to get the vehicle moving. Having more Torque means this movement is easier as it can achieve more work.

Horsepower on the other hand is a measurement of how long it takes to do a certain amount of work; or Torque x RPM / 5252. (If you're interested in why 5252 specifically, then watch this video.) This aspect of time is all important when it comes to measuring 0-60 times and acceleration in general, as it is a measurement of how quickly the required work can be achieved. If you have more Horsepower, you’ll be able to go faster.

The two are fundamentally connected. Since HP = Torque x RPM, then if you have a Torque heavy engine, then you will be able to produce a lot of Horsepower at lower RPMs, which means you won’t need to rev the engine as much to go faster. This usually means you get good 0-60 times as Peak Horsepower can be achieved earlier.

On the flip side, if you vehicle is low in Torque, then you will need to rev the engine very high to get to the Peak Horsepower. This usually means it might not accelerate that quickly from a standing start, but once the engine gets going then it becomes a very fast car indeed.

A great example of this is the E92 BMW M3 that had that amazing naturally aspirated 4 litre V8 engine. It produced a massive 420 Brake Horsepower but interestingly only 292lb/ft of Torque. So you really had to get the revs high to get the most out of the car, but when you did it was an absolute beast. In some way it’s a shame, but the more modern M3s now come with 3 litre straight 6 engines, but they also have two turbochargers. And this means MUCH higher Torque levels. As a result it can achieve much higher Horsepower from lower down the rev range, meaning quicker acceleration. There is nothing quite like the sound of that old V8 though, the straight 6, or a V6, no matter how good the exhausts are, just don’t sound as raw...

Moving on, weight is also very very important. Big trucks and heavy vehicles, for example, will require much more work to move than a small car. This is why they require engines with very high levels of Torque. Large trucks have no requirement to drive particularly fast and so having high levels of Horsepower is not fundamentally important. Without the strength of a torquey engine they simply wouldn’t move.

Similarly, small cars are light and can be moved very easily by comparison, and so they won’t need to produce anywhere near as much Torque as heavier cars.

Is Horsepower the same as Brake Horsepower?

No. Brake Horsepower is measured at the engine’s flywheel and determines how much Horsepower the engine is actually generating. In the real world some power is lost by the time this power is transferred through the car to the wheels. The power generated at the wheels (as measured by a dyno) is known as Horsepower, or Wheel Horsepower. When you take a car to get dyno’d, they calculate Wheel Horsepower and then convert this back to Brake Horsepower for simplicity.

Essentially, if you want to go quickly you’ll need a good balance of both Horsepower and Torque. Having just one of the other might win you a game of top trumps with a friend, but it won’t do you many favours in the real world.

Horsepower vs Torque - Which is more important?

Tag: horsepower

MASERATI: Hardcore Trofeo Ghibli and Quattroporte saloons

Review: Audi RS5 Sportback

Horsepower vs Torque - Which is more important?

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