The Audi Performance Range

Immediately recognisable from its flowing, coupe-like profile, the RS 5 Sportback competition plus occupies a unique position within the RS ranks, with its five-door configuration and aggressive sports styling. A masterpiece of understated luxury, it is an equally impressive performance specialist and although all RS models draw heavily on motorsport experience and expertise for their dynamic ability, the RS 5 Sportback competition plus takes things to an all-new level. As well as boasting a host of sports-focused technical and design enhancements, it is the first time that race-derived coil over suspension has been offered on a factory Audi, giving it unmatched agility and handling to go with its superb twin-turbo 2.9-litre V6 power plant with a revised top speed of 290k m/h and a standing sprint to 100km/h of just 3.8 seconds#.

Of course luxury and state-of-the-art technology remain a major stay of the RS 5 Sportback competition plus, as the name suggests, this is a vehicle born of competition and designed to further hone the dynamic attributes of what is already acknowledged as a serious performance specialist.

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When the first Audi RS 6 was produced over 20 years ago, it challenged the very idea of what constituted a ‘supercar’. With performance and handling only ever found in diminutive two-seat sports cars, its large, practical dimensions represented a radical departure, never mind its luxurious finish and equipment.

Now, the RS 6 Avant performance–the most powerful and fastest RS 6 model ever–continues that proud tradition with a car that combines razor-sharp performance and handling, with aggressive design and road presence. Where once upon a time the very idea of a high-performance wagon or ‘Avant’ raised eyebrows, so successful have been the RS 6 Avants over the intervening years that it is not only accepted that a large, luxuriously appointed Avant should be able to rocket from stop to 100km/h in 3.4 seconds#, but it should also handle like a sports car half its size.

The note from its 4.0-litre bi-turbo V8 has become a rallying call for performance enthusiasts, while its 463kW of power and 850Nm of torque place the luxurious RS 6 Avant performance squarely in supercar territory, yet with the everyday practicality to carry up to five adults in absolute comfort, as well as all of the luggage and equipment of those with the most active of lifestyles.

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Not only is the Audi RS e-tron GT the first all-electric vehicle to wear Audi Sport’s coveted RS badge, it is also the most powerful production car the brand has ever produced–petrol or electric. A masterpiece of automotive design, its perfect proportions and sweeping styling have been described by the celebrated Head of Design at Audi, Marc Lichte, as ‘the most beautiful car he has ever designed’ and ‘the highlight of his career’.

Its arresting looks are combined with the very latest in electric drive technology and driving dynamics honed over years in motorsport at the very highest levels to make the RS e-tron GT the very epitome of intelligent performance. Using dual electric motors (one on each axle) it rockets from standstill to 100km/h in just 3.3 seconds#, its 475kW of power on boost and massive 830Nm of torque delivering instantaneous response that is perfectly harnessed by its electric quattro all-wheel drive. An incredible driver’s car in every respect, its unparalleled performance belies the extraordinary levels of luxury and refinement that also make this elegant four-door one of the most accomplished grand tourers on the road.

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Audi Sport History

The Audi Sport ‘brand within a brand’ has become synonymous with high-performance motoring and excellence in automotive for more than four decades. It has challenged convention from the beginning, producing models like the RS 4 Avant and the RS 6 Avant which from the very start were unlike any other models available on the market, but have since become performance icons and inspired many imitators.

Originally called quattro GmbH, it was renamed Audi Sport in 2016 and is responsible for some of the most sought after performance models on the road today. From the original RS 4 Avant in 1999 with its 280kW, to the barnstorming RS6 Avant performance of today with its 463kW or the all-electric RS e-tron GT turning the wick up to 475kW on boost.

From high-performance SUV offerings like the monster RS Q8 with handling which seemingly defies the laws of physics, to the flowing elegance of the RS 7 Sportback performance – a grand tourer that seamlessly melds supreme style with extraordinary heights of performance and handling – the Audi Sport range is as diverse as it is impressive.

Breaking the mould entirely, the RS 6 Avant in all its incarnations has become a performance classic, delivering supercar performance in a vehicle that also sports everyday practicality, while the likes of the RS 5 Sportback brings its own distinctive style to the RS ranks along with the prerequisite Rennsport attributes.

All vastly different models and yet all boasting the trademark Audi Sport luxury finish and attention to detail as well as the coveted RS badging and all that that has come to stand for amongst the performance elite.

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