There are now Audi RS4 and RS5 Carbon Editions

Like any premium car nowadays, Audi’s RS products are vulnerable to an options list binge. Adding £20,000 or more is a piece of cake.

Even more so now that Audi’s offering Carbon Edition treatment for the latest RS4 or RS5. It can add as much as an extra £12,500 in one click, which equates to £71,625 for an RS4, or £75,400 for an RS5. Yep, the bigger, more commodious car is cheaper.

Carbon Edition cars bring – you guessed it – lots of carbon. CFRP (carbon-reinforced plastic) details abound, with spoilers, diffusers and mirrors covered in the stuff, while the RS5 gets a full CFRP roof, ensuring its special edition price premium is higher than the RS4’s.

There are also milled 20in alloy wheels – saving 2kg a corner – as well as some choice additional options from the normal selection, including privacy glass, a sports exhaust and fancier LED headlights.

Beneath the skin is the same powertrain as stock RS4s and RS5s – a 444bhp turbo V6 feeding an all-wheel drive Quattro transmission. Both complete 0-62mph in around four seconds on their way to a top speed of 155mph. Or 174mph if you’ve opted for the higher electronic limiter via, yep, an options list box.

Carbon Editions aren’t limited, so it really is a case of another box to tick in the confusing (and presumably pricey) world of configurators. Would you?