VIDEO: AUDI'S GRAND TOURER GETS PRACTICAL WITH THE RS5 SPORTBACK

In a first for Audi, their Sport division has applied the RS treatment their A5 Sportback, making it not only blimmen fast but practical too.

With most of its underpinnings coming from the coupe, the Sportback features the 2.9-litre ‘hot-vee’ twin-turbo V6 from Porsche, which pumps out 444bhp and 443lb ft of torque. It's connected to the smooth eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox while the coupé's rear differential and adaptive dampers are also present.

The RS5 Sportback is cloaked in the same aesthetics as the RS5 Coupe including the typical RS wheel arch extensions, the same bold front and rear bumper treatments and bigger wheels over the standard A5.

While the RS5 coupe isn't as dynamically handling as the BMW M4 Comp Pack and lacks Mercedes-AMG C63 S's intensity, it certainly delivers most of the thrills of these competitors while offering a genuinely alluring all-weather package. Plus, two extra doors and that large rear hatch will be a boon for those who need more practicality than the coupé or don't like the idea of the RS4 station wagon.

The Sportback goes on sale in North American in the summer, while the UK and Europe will most likely see it at the end of the year.

Audi has managed to create its very own niché with the RS5 Sportback, it remains to be seen if Mercedes and BMW will make any moves of their own.

Watch this space.

Check out the Audi RS5 Sportback in the video below.