The primary-ever Audi RS5 Avant will likely be motivated by a plug-in hybrid drivetrain – however worry not, the Bavarian firm hasn’t dropped the ball like Mercedes-AMG, which went with four-cylinder energy.
As a substitute, the brand new RS5 – which is able to come as a Sedan in addition to the wagon-shaped Avant we’re so acquainted with – employs an enhanced model of the previous 2.9-litre biturbo petrol V6, which noticed service within the previous RS4 Avant.
Successfully, the brand new RS5 is the sixth entrant in a sequence, persevering with a line which initially started with RS2 Avant of 1994.
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By the point 1999 had rolled round, the RS2 had morphed into the B5-series RS4, a 2.7-litre twin-turbo V6 wagon with a steroidal look and 280kW of grunt to match.
From there, the RS4 advanced by three extra generations – B7, B8 and B9 – with both naturally aspirated 4.2-litre V8 engines, or latterly the two.9-litre V6 biturbo.
However, after 27 years in service with that nameplate, and 32 years in complete when you chuck the RS2 into the combination, the RS4 is not any extra – on account of Audi’s personal convoluted in-house badging insurance policies for ICE versus EV, a baffling system which it has since gone again on.
Subsequently, it’s the RS5 which is able to keep it up the legacy of the mid-size, super-fast Audi into the late 2020s and past.
Consider it as a direct competitor for BMW’s personal M3 Sedan and Touring fashions, and also you’re heading in the right direction.
Nonetheless, as a substitute of sticking with pure inside combustion, or certainly taking place a milder hybrid route, Audi has determined to twist on the identical plug-in hybrid (PHEV) standing that noticed the Mercedes-AMG C63 lose all of its road cred when it switched to hybrid propulsion in 2022.
New powertrain
The excellent news right here is that the two.9-litre V6 is carried over, and even by itself it makes extra energy than the previous B9 RS4 – that automotive made 331kW in commonplace guise after which 346kW for the 250-off, ultra-limited 25 Years particular version that signed the RS4 line off.
Right here, Audi says the V6 is “all-new” because it has been subjected to intensive modification, which in flip liberates a brand new output of 375kW from the petrol engine alone. It makes no extra torque than earlier than although, nonetheless peaking at a rudely wholesome 600Nm.
Aiding it is a 130kW/460Nm electrical motor, and so whereas the sum-of-their-parts totals for the RS5 are a ginormous 505kW and 1060Nm, Audi nonetheless pegs the powertrain again to an ever so barely extra affordable 470kW and 825Nm for causes of each longevity and controllability.
These numbers, by the best way, imply the brand new RS5 is stronger than its supposed large brother. Even the spectacular run-out GT variant of the C8-series RS6 Avant solely developed 463kW, though it produced marginally extra torque from its twin-turbo V8, at 850Nm.
Sadly, there’s a worth to pay for all this sheer pressure, and that’s weight. The RS6 could also be a bodily greater and hierarchically grander automotive than the RS5, however the latter is 205-220kg heavier, as a result of electrical a part of its PHEV setup.
We’re speaking 2355kg for the RS5 Sedan, and one other 15kg for the fascinating Avant.
Thoughts you, a 22kWh (web capability) lithium-ion battery pack permits greater than 80km of all-electric vary regardless of the way you spec the RS5 (81-86km formally).
Charging the battery is by AC solely, with no DC functionality, and a full top-up of the ability cells on the most score of 11kW requires two-and-a-half hours to finish.
Chic design
It’s clear the RS5 ought to sound good and go like holy stink. And there’s numerous technical prowess in its chassis and underpinnings that may hopefully assist it corral its vital mass.
Earlier than we get onto that, a phrase on seems to be. CarExpert was one in every of a handful of media shops invited to a sneak preview of the RS5 Sedan and Avant in Munich in early February, so we’ve seen the automotive up shut and private. And it seems to be completely phenomenal.
Even by Audi RS requirements, the bodywork of the RS5 is extremely muscular. Its blistered wheel-arches and wider tracks make it 90mm broader throughout the beam than any common A5 mannequin within the vary.
It’s even 77mm fatter than the previous RS4, which itself was no shrinking violet.
Taking its lead from the C8 RS6 GT, the RS5 sports activities an enormous, huge air-intake area on the entrance that’s all in black, in addition to a complementary rear diffuser in the identical color – each tips which visually broaden the automotive.
Certainly, so specialised is the bodywork on the RS5 that it solely shares 4 objects with the common A5, these being the roof, the entrance doorways and the tailgate.
The keen-eyed amongst additionally, you will have noticed that the RS5 has outlet vents on the trailing fringe of its entrance wings – one other growth taken from the RS6 GT.
And all of its gentle signatures, together with the high-level brake gentle, have a chequered-flag motif which is bespoke to this RS mannequin.
As commonplace, the RS5 runs 20-inch alloy wheels with huge metal brakes behind them – 420mm discs up entrance and 400mm rotors on the rear.
Alternatively, 21-inch rims are provided, as are carbon brakes. And given the sheer heft of the RS5 total, there’s a ‘segment-first’ right here in that choosing these upgraded anchors sees carbon discs fitted on the rear axle in addition to the entrance.
On different high-power Audis with this selection, just like the RS3 as an illustration, choosing carbon brakes will solely remodel the front-wheel discs to the fabric.
Selecting the carbon possibility on the RS5 will lower 30kg from the kerb weight of the automotive, which is a small drop in a 2.4-tonne ocean in all actuality. However nonetheless, many shoppers will need these fitted.
Bespoke inside
Inside, there are a lot of interesting RS-specific options, like bucket seats, a Dinamica-clad steering wheel with a 12 o’clock marker and numerous shows, graphics and particulars that are distinctive to the RS5.
But the primary interface remains to be centred on Audi’s ‘Digital Stage’ association, which majors on touchscreens and TFT panels. Some will just like the tech-heavy standing this confers, others will maybe lament the shortage of bodily buttons and controls in sure locations.
There’s one other downside of the PHEV setup of the RS5, too, and that’s impacted practicality. The battery pack is located underneath the boot flooring, so even the Avant can solely lay declare to very modest cargo-capacity figures of 361 litres with all seats in use, and 1302L with the second row folded away.
Beware the Sedan (it’s truly a five-door fastback, however we’ll persist with Audi’s nomenclature right here) on this occasion. Its numbers are trimmed again to 331 and 1170L, respectively. And, having sat in each automobiles, we will confidently state that headroom within the rear is noticeably decreased within the Sedan in comparison with the Avant.
Nonetheless, the RS5 Sedan would possibly curiosity you due to its relative rarity worth from a historic perspective. Apart from the B7 technology of the RS4, which was offered as a saloon, an property and a convertible, each different RS4 (and certainly the RS2) has solely ever been provided by Audi as an Avant.
So this new, sleeker-looking RS5 marks the primary time because the late 2000s you could get any physique kind apart from the wagon for this M3 challenger.
Extra RS goodies
Transferring onto the {hardware}, channelling such an enormous quantity of energy and torque to all 4 wheels by way of Audi’s fabled quattro system is the job of a swift-shifting eight-speed Tiptronic torque-converter auto.
Audi’s claiming one other world-first with the rear axle on the RS5. It has Dynamic Torque Management (electro-mechanical vectoring), and it’s the hybrid nature of this which is what Audi reckons is exclusive available in the market.
A small 8kW/40Nm permanent-magnet electrical motor on the rear diff can apparently shunt as much as 2000Nm of torque to wherever it’s wanted inside simply 15 milliseconds, making the Audi RS5’s quattro system a state-of-the-art iteration of the long-serving, all-wheel-drive tech.
The corporate says this won’t solely restrict understeer however may permit for a higher diploma of torque to be thrown on the exterior rear wheel in sure modes and settings, maybe hinting at a ‘drift’-mode kind state of affairs for the RS5.
Alongside the monster powertrain, huge brakes and the flowery fast-acting quattro diffs, the RS5 has an Audi RS Sport chassis with twin-valve dampers and a five-link suspension entrance and rear, a sports activities exhaust system toting a pair of ginormous oval-shaped outlet to take advantage of the V6’s voice, and RS-tuned steering with a speedy and direct 13:1 ratio.
As for worth, we’re undecided what the RS5 Sedan and Avant will price right here in Australia as but, though the previous B9 RS4 was priced from round $165,000 when it went off-sale final 12 months.
Given the extent of technical complexity within the PHEV RS5’s bundle, we count on the drive-away price of the Audi to extend considerably as soon as the ultimate figures are introduced.
However we’re going to get each physique types in our market, and we’re very a lot trying ahead to making an attempt the RS5 out for measurement, to see if it will possibly correctly include its bulk and ship a really thrilling drive for Audi followers.
Watch this house to search out out once we get behind the wheel.
Six of the most effective: From RS2 to RS5
- 1994: Audi RS2 Avant, 2.2 5cyl turbo, 232kW/410Nm, 0-100km/h 4.8sec, V-max 262km/h, 1595kg
- 1999: B5 Audi RS4 Avant, 2.7 V6 biturbo, 280kW/440Nm, 4.9sec, 250km/h (restricted), 1620kg
- 2006: B7 Audi RS4, Sedan/Avant/Cabriolet, 4.2 V8, 309kW/430Nm, 4.8-4.9sec, 250km/h (restricted), 1650-1845kg
- 2012: B8 Audi RS4 Avant, 4.2 V8, 331kW/430Nm, 4.7secs, 250km/h (restricted, with possibility to boost to 280km/h), 1795kg
- 2018: B9 Audi RS4 Avant, 2.9 V6 biturbo, 331kW/600Nm, 4.1sec, 250km/h (restricted, with possibility to boost to 280km/h), 1790kg
- 2026: B10 Audi RS5, Sedan/Avant, 2.9 V6 biturbo PHEV, 470kW/825Nm, 3.6sec, 285km/h (restricted), 2355-2370kg
