Tan exclusively in the Audi RS4 Cabrio

Audi's American fans are a vocal bunch and not averse to telling Audi what to do and fortunately for both parties, Audi listens. When the fans begged for the RS4 super-sedan by explaining that Americans want them even though Germany is the only place you could legally drive them at speed on public roads, Audi relented. Now, after more begging and cajoling for the other versions, the Americans are getting a few hundred of the Cabriolets. The Avant wagon will not come because the production line is being readied for the next A4 series and the Cabrio is built at a separate location by Karmann coachworks, the people that built the VW Karmann Ghia and Scirocco.

To the untrained eye the RS4 Cabrio looks like an A4 cabrio, a pleasant enough shape but nothing you'd call exotic. Yet the RS4 Cabrio will be available only in exotic-car quantities because Audi plans to bring just 300 to the U.S.; that makes the RS4 Cabrio about as common as a Maybach or Rolls-Royce, while Bentleys and Ferraris will outnumber it like so many Toyota Corollas.

However, the trained eye will know this is no garden-variety A4 because only the pieces that open — doors, trunk, hood, roof — are similar. The windshield frame and mirrors are aluminum-colored, the fenders all have flared lips to house the wider tires, the rear bumper is deeper and punctuated by two large oval exhaust outlets, and the front bumper is deeper and filled with functional vents to let cool air in and hot air out. Okay, so the exhaust pipes look a bit Bentley-esque no one will confuse an RS4 with a Bentley.

But you do need to give it similar respect, as the RS4 Cabrio will reach 60 from rest in roughly the same time as the "average" Bentley. Where allowed, it would keep pulling hard until it reached its electronic speed limiter, at which point the unrestrained Bentley would sail off to the horizon: That extra $100,000 has to pay off somewhere.

An RS4 Cabrio is roughly an inch shorter than the sedan and about 100 pounds bulkier; body rigidity reinforcements, pop-up rollbars, and powered roof mechanisms are heavier than two extra doors and power windows. But with 420 high-revving horsepower available and a six-speed manual designed for acceleration, you won't notice the weight; the only change you are inclined to see is that the low-profile 19-inch tires and firm suspension are about as tight as you can go on American road surfaces and still maintain any semblance of smooth ride quality in an open-top car. Not that it beats you up — it rides better than many cars — but it is much happier on smooth ribbons of pavement than what we call roads and freeways.

The cabin style and features match the sedan right down to the carbon-fiber weave, albeit with two seats in back rather than a squeezed three, with only minor changes on the instrument and door panels. The tachometer still reads to 9,000 rpm (red at 8,000 and limited at 8,250), the speedometer to 200, and the digital panel in between shows engine oil temperature or max rpm of 7000 until it warms up and includes a lap timer function unique to the Audi "R" cars. Switchgear, navigation and audio systems work just the same, including the "S" button that changes accelerator and steering inputs and opens an exhaust pipe on each side for an even deeper purr.

Legroom in back is compromised by front seat travel — stagger the tall people side-to-side, but there is headroom for 6-footers in back and a concealed pass-through for getting longer items in the trunk. With the top up only the lack of overhead reading lights shows you're not in a coupe, with noise and weather resistance no different than the sedan. Of course the trunk is a bit smaller and shrinks further with the top down, yet space remains adequate for a multi-night trip.

Huge power is useless if you can't use it, a problem eliminated in the RS4 Cabrio by all-wheel drive and 255-section Continental SportContact3 tires that stick like glue. With nearly 60 percent of its weight over the front wheels it's best to have all the braking done before the corner and on the gas early so the front drive helps pull it out; no convertible comes out of a tight uphill bend like this one, and in the rain it'll be the last one sent to a garage. Brakes are equally impressive, sized like the wheels on an economy car and fitted with multipiston calipers and electronic assistance to effect the shortest stops; just remember all those four-wheel drives people bought for bad weather can't stop nearly this well so you may want that horsepower to keep your distance. Dynamic ride control handles the active suspension chores, and stability control helps to mitigate, not eliminate, ineptness and inattention.

Low-volume cars with bespoke body panels and high-strung engines aren't cheap, and convertibles only add to the expense, so the RS4 Cabrio goes out in the mid-$80,000s range. Of course the similar Mercedes CLK63 AMG, which offers neither all-wheel drive nor a manual gearbox, gets close to $100,000 without much effort.

However, any "value" discussion of the RS4 also must include the limited number of them and the fact that with recent rule and regulation changes, the days of the hyper-V8-powered convertible may well be numbered themselves.

(Whale, a longtime Ventura County resident, has been breaking parts for 30 years, and writing about it for 22.)

2008 Audi RS4

Engine: 4.2-liter DOHC V-8, 420 bhp

Length/width/height (in.): 179.3/71.4/54.8

Weight: 4,068 lbs.

MPG city/hwy/observed: 12/19/18.1

Base warranty: 4 yrs/50,000 miles

Price as tested: $85,525

Alternatives: BMW M3, Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG