When the beloved gas-powered Audi RS6 in its unique kind left the market in 2010, a bit of little bit of Audi‘s wagon status left with it. But the love for the All-American station wagon is not fully gone. In 2021, Audi came out with the RS6 Avant in an try to hold on the unique automotive’s legacy. While the Avant scored rave opinions for its wagon design and unparalleled efficiency, its 2024 version has still left some reviewers wanting more.

An all-electric version of the RS6 goals to do exactly that. From effectivity to a singular design construction spearheaded in partnership with Porsche, the RS6 is about to revive an period all whereas doing it sustainably.

In order to provide the most recent and correct info attainable, the info used to compile this text was sourced from varied producer web sites and different authoritative sources, together with Car and Driver and TopGear.

The RS6 e-Tron Is An Ode To The Audi RS6

When the RS6 first got here into fruition within the early 2000s, it introduced with it a wild bundle: pace and energy in a seemingly regular station wagon. As generations of the automobile debuted, it started to have a status for high speeds inches in direction of 200 MPH and a horsepower and torque combo that blew straight previous you. After 23 years, the Audi RS6 is set to return in 2025 with an all-electric powertrain and that very same status to keep up.

The RS6’s Singular Place in History

The Audi RS6 made its debut in 2002 with both sedan and Avant models. Powered by a turbo V-8 engine, Audi described it as a “wolf disguised in a visually inconspicuous pelt.” Its 4.2-liter powerhouse allowed for a speedy 4.7-second acceleration charge from 0 to 62.1 MPH. But Audi’s love affair with power didn’t stop there.

In 2008, the RS6 was thought of “the most powerful series production Audi and, as an Avant, also the most powerful series production station wagon in the world to date.” Switching over to a direct injection twin-turbo V-10 engine made all of the distinction.

Suddenly, an unassuming enterprise wagon put 479.4 pound-feet of torque and 174 MPH of pace into the fingers of on a regular basis commuters. The automobile even supplied the common individual a style — or quite hint — of the monitor. While carbon fiber is all the fashion in auto manufacturing now, the German-born producer used carbon fiber ceramic brake disks with particular buyer requests. In 2013, Audi stated goodbye to the unique RS6 sedan and debuted a 3rd era of the RS6 Avant. The wagon strayed from its predecessor’s power-hungry methods and, as a substitute, opted for a high-tech imaginative and prescient.

A Lofty Standard To Live Up To

As the RS6 returns in a refurbished format — one hundred pc electrical and the unique sedan fashion — it carries with it high expectations for a nostalgic past era of Audi.

While specifics are undisclosed, the automobile goals to grace the stage in 2025 because the automotive and particulars are revealed. In an interview with TopGear, Marc Lichte, head of design, painted a picture of a large wagon with “a wider track and bigger wheels.” Lichte went on to tease a bit in regards to the RS6’s efficiency by saving it might be completely different than the opposite E-tron fashions, particularly the A6 E-tron.

While suspension particulars aren’t launched, it was an space Audi cherished on the daybreak of the RS6.

“Even in the first RS6, a major focus was placed on the suspension,” Audi detailed in a press launch. “The hydraulic pitch and roll compensation, Dynamic Ride Control (DRC, which is still purely RS-specific suspension technology today, was a pioneering innovation here.”

Keeping A Reputation For Performance Alive

As beforehand acknowledged, specifics aren’t fairly accessible but. However, because the one hundred pc electrical RS6 rolls out, so do a handful of different electrical station wagons that threaten to dethrone Audi’s RS6. While the 2024 RS6 Avant is gas-guzzling, it does set a excessive bar of efficiency combined with energy.

Audi’s Electric Excellence

Audi has been fast to make the change to electrification. In truth, the producer has carved out a section of the business specifically for its e-Tron line. Current electrical choices embrace the Audi Q8 e-tron and Sportback e-tron, the Q4 e-tron and Sportback e-tron, and the e-tron GT. The Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron tops the charts by way of vary with 300 miles and charges in about 31 minutes with a DC quick charger. However, the Audi e-tron GT is the sporty electrical automobile within the lineup. The GT reaches 60 MPH in 3.9 seconds.

But what about placing all of these attributes in a single automotive? The RS6 e-tron goals to verify all of the containers while taking inspiration from the original RS6 and the 2024 RS6 Avant. The 2024 Avant reaches 60 MPH in simply 3.3 seconds, carrying on the unique RS6’s legacy, and including 30 extra ponies and 37 pound-feet of torque to its already highly effective drive system.

However, because the world turns extra to electrification as the way forward for the auto trade, the 2024 RS6’s four-liter twin-turbo V-8 could also be gas-electric, however it’s nonetheless gas-guzzling. In an period of producers which have managed to mix pace, efficiency, energy, effectivity, and sustainable design, Audi’s revival of the RS6 with electrical motors is a key choice in securing the automaker’s eco-friendly future.

2024 Audi RS6 Avant

(Data sourced from Audi)

Who Poses A Threat?

2023 gave the impression to be the 12 months of reviving the station wagon in an electrical format. Other station wagons with one hundred pc electrical powertrains are set to enter the market within the coming years. Most notably, the Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer will mark the automaker’s foray into electrical station wagon territory. Chinese automaker Nio additionally introduced in June it might launch an all-electric station wagon, the ET5 Touring.

Audi Partners With Porsche To Boost Audi’s Historic Wagon Driving System

Audi’s models have been regarded as an alternative option to Porsche already, so the automaker’s use of the identical platform comes as no shock. The distinctive partnership between Porsche, Audi, and the VW Group builds upon all three German producers’ huge reputations for shifting in direction of electrification. The RS6 e-tron, like the A6 e-tron, is about to stem from that very same design platform.

The VW Group’s PPE Platform

The VW Group Premium Platform Electric (PPE) is a collaborative mission that enables for competing producers like Porsche and Audi to share Volkswagen’s electrical expertise. When creating the A6 e-tron idea, Audi credited the PPE platform for enabling “superior performance” by means of design, 800-volt charging capabilities, and high-performance metrics.

“We benefit greatly from the synergies in the Volkswagen Group both in hardware and software: PPE scales high-performance features for the broader market,” Audi stated in a press release. “Shared platform is not an obstacle to realize brand-specific vehicle design and characteristics.”

Audi’s use of the PPE, MEB, and J1 {hardware} BEV platforms has lower prices together with allowed for carry-over components. For instance, Audi stated that the Audi e-tron GT and Porsche Taycan use comparable large-scale components after implementing the J1 platform.

Audi’s Race Toward Electrification

Like most producers in right this moment’s ever-changing local weather, Audi has a strict timeline to succeed in each full electrification and a net-zero carbon emissions standing. Audi goals to decarbonize by 2050 whereas spearheading sustainability and electrical charging infrastructure community infrastructure growth within the meantime.

By 2025, Audi aims to have an additional 5,000-plus fast-charging points with a max charging output of 350 kW all through greater than 1,000 completely different areas of Europe. Additionally, that 12 months marks Audi’s deadline to construct wind farms and photo voltaic parks with Audi websites being as carbon-neutral “as possible,” in keeping with Audi. The deadline coincides with the anticipated unveiling of the Audi RS6 e-tron. “The goal is to increase the proportion of regeneratively produced electricity through the partners along with the continuing increase in the share of electric cars,” stated Audi.