When 340 horsepower in a compact all-wheel-drive sedan just won’t do, Audi rides to the rescue with the 2006 RS 4. The new RS 4 tops the 340-horse Audi S4 by 80 ponies, bringing the total to 420 thundering hooves. Imagine how that’ll get the blood boiling, especially since the current S4 is already the darling of the North American automotive press.

‘Course, it’ll empty a wallet pretty quickly, too. But with a slate of impressive advancements, the cost might just be worthwhile.

Arriving in the U.S. in the middle of the 2006 model year, the Audi RS 4’s technical achievements are solidly rooted in the German automaker’s LeMans-winning motorsports experience, including a new Quattro all-wheel-drive system, direct-injection fuel delivery, higher engine speeds, and other features that make the RS 4 the greatest performance Audi ever sold in North America.

When the 2006 Audi RS 4 arrives in the middle of 2006, it will be sold only as a sedan. An Avant station wagon version won’t be offered, leaving performance junkies who need to carry extra stuff with the 340-horsepower S4 Avant.