You are pretty spot on about the Evo. Nothing really luxury about it. It is made to fly. I had to make a 3 hour drive in mine one day and my back was sore for the next 2 days, lol. The MR is not really bought with pocket cash though. You can't get off the lot with a new MR for under $37,000. I actually traded in my S4 (which I loved dearly) because I wanted to go faster around the track. As far as being a "real man's car", a punk kid can't handle an Evo. That's why the Evo's insurance is the highest car to insure (kids are always crashing them). The luxury of the Audi is very nice; that's why I still drive one for daily driving.
http://corelineracing.com/gallery/emrie

 

Here are some shennanigans that should make you feel better =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSAbsfziia8

 

Don't get me wrong, the S4 is a beautiful car with very high performance capabilites. When I had my B7, I always bragged to my friends at what a well rounded car it was. (great luxury and performance). Facts are facts though. As was already stated, the Evo was bred for one real reason, PERFORMANCE. You have to really look at luxury and performance as a spectrum (a balance if you will), as your performance goes up, the luxury goes down, and as your luxury goes up, the performance goes down. With that being said, the S4 has almost the perfect balance between luxury and performance. ( I say almost because it is bested by the RS4). Now on the other end of the spectrum is the Evo (obviously weighted on the performance end of the spectrum). Putting up a video like that really tells us nothing. Who knows how much money was put into that S4. For all we know, that was probably a stock Evo too. Not to mention that the driver of the Evo probably didn't know how to drive. Also, the Evo was never meant to be a drag car. It's a rally car at heart, with exceptional and predictable handling characteristics. The Evo is probably one of the most versatile cars on the market. You can autocross it, drag it, orput it on road courses, and it will excell at all.
Here's an idea of the potential of the Evo.
This car was driven to the track and is his daily driver. Watch what it does to this Noble!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGyHYF_ZoUs

Also, if you didn't see what a mildly modded can do to a Lamborghini, check it out a few posts up.
What I'm trying to say is don't feel bad that you didn't beat the Evo with your tip S4, you shouldn't win unless it was a very bad driver.

 

Oh my! I was looking at an MR for about28k when I was shopping for one. The pice must be fluctuating based on location an possibly as of late, they have gone up due to demand. .

Edit...I just looked them up. I meant RS, not MR. Difference is the gear box.

 

MR's have always been in the mid $30's. The RS is very different from the MR. The RS, is a stripped down EVO, very stripped, no wing, hardly any sound deadening, no options, no radio, etc.., that's why it's almost $10k less.

 

Evos r extremely fast. i drove a few of them, they r fun. i dout id ever own one just bc its screams at cops to give u attention.