Warm Up Your January With This Solar Orange B8 Audi RS4

At the launch of the new Audi RS4 a few weeks ago, I found myself a little distracted from the new, 2.9-litre V6-powered version. Distracted by its larger-engined predecessor, sitting on a giant display showing the whole lineage of the RS4, right the way back to the RS2.

The B8-gen RS4 is a car I’ve driven and seen plenty of before, but before then I’d not seen it finished in such a vibrant hue. Said hue - I’ve since discovered - is Solar Orange, and it looks wicked. It’s not far off ‘Neon Carrot’ (aka Car Throttle orange), and it’s an incredibly rare option.

Just three B8-generation RS4s received this in-yer-face paint job, and unsurprisingly we can only find one currently for sale in the whole country. The car in question is a 2013 example, and it’s been well used in its short time on planet Earth, with the mileage currently at a heroic 89,000 miles.

B8-generation cars are powered by Audi’s magnificent - and sadly discontinued - 4.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8, which kicks out 444bhp. The 0-62mph time of 4.8 seconds may be just shy of a second off the latest RS4’s benchmark sprint, but with a howling 8000rpm redline to enjoy, who cares about raw figures?

The Solar Orange exterior of the 2013 car is complemented by arch-filling 20-inch wheels that are arguably less challenging to look at than some of Audi’s more recent designs, while on the cabin’s livened up by a load of carbonfibre trim pieces. It’s a stunning thing inside and out, we reckon.

It’s up for £24,990, and comes with a full service history. Tempted?