T
here were two ways Audi could’ve played it with its
new RS6 Avant estate and RS7 fastback, which both
arrive early next year. One was a switch to plug-in
hybrid technology, the second was to polish what
they already had, like the nervy work experience kid dusting
Audi’s Le Mans silverware. Well, early adopters run for your
Teslas, because Audi has clung to the familiar.
Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, and there are enticing
reasons to trade up from your existing RS, as CAR’s recent chat
with chassis expert Andrei Filep and exterior designer Franc-
esco D’Amore revealed. Prices are still TBC, but expect around
£90k for the RS6, closer to £100k for the RS7.
The 4.0-litre V8 continues, now with 3mm larger twinturbos running an extra 0.25 bar pressure. Outputs of 592bhp
and 590lb ft represent increases of 39bhp and 74lb ft over the
previous model, if not the last Performance Pack special, which
had 5bhp more and 37lb ft less.
The RS6 and RS7s are electronically limited to 155mph, but
the Dynamic Package raises that to 174mph, or 190mph with
Dynamic Package Plus. Yes, it’s an impressive prison sentence,
but it’s not astonishing like the sometimes entirely legal
0-62mph sprint: engage the new launch-control function and
you’ll blitz the benchmark in only 3.6 seconds in either RS6 or
RS7 – faster than the new Porsche 911 Carrera.
It’s not all pass-the-sickbag-for-Lassie madness. Nods to
sustainability include cylinder deactivation (as before, the V8 ⊲BODY BUILDING
RS6 shares only roof, boot
and front doors with A6 Avant
and now gets RS7-style front.
RS7 shares roof, boot, front
doors and bonnet with A7.
RS6 again gets an 80mm
wider body, but RS7’s bulging
pants are a first – it’s 40mm
wider than the A7.
AIR OR COIL SUSPENSION
Both get standard air or
optional Dynamic Ride
Control suspension. Air
springs can stiffen by 50
per cent more than previous
model, and rise by 20mm,
lower by 30mm. DRC gets
steels coils and diagonally
connected dampers. RS6 is
just 10kg heavier than RS
and has the same track width.New car
debrief