Audi has been making quick wagons for 30 years, beginning with the 1994 RS2 Avant constructed along with Porsche. And that will not cease anytime quickly. When requested by journalists whether or not there’s a future for quick estates, RS 6 GT technical venture supervisor Nils Fischer stated: “I would definitely say yes, for sure.”
The limited-run RS6 Avant GT special edition is described by Audi as a “model that reaches its maximum.” However, the corporate is strictly speaking concerning the outgoing C8 era. A follow-up to the present tremendous wagon is coming earlier than 2026, at which level the German luxurious model will solely launch EVs. It means there’s nonetheless time for a last RS6 era with a combustion engine.
Audi Head of Research & Development Stephan Reil has already confirmed the subsequent RS6 will hold the gasoline engine however with an electric motor thrown into the mix. Even the outgoing mannequin has a small dose of electrification with twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 utilizing a mild-hybrid setup. Its successor is predicted to make use of a plug-in hybrid system, and hopefully, constructed round a V8.
When the next-gen mannequin arrives, it will go by one other identify. Audi has introduced the A6 fashions with a combustion engine will transition to the A7 household. It successfully means an RS7 Avant is coming, as bizarre as that may sound. That will allow Audi to launch purely electrical A6 fashions, together with an RS6 as a wagon variant to the spied RS6 sedan.
Car paparazzi have already caught on digicam prototypes of an A6 Avant E-Tron testing with the complete manufacturing physique. That electrical wagon will trip on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) structure Audi developed with Porsche. The first mannequin to make the most of the {hardware} is new second-generation Macan, which has as much as 630 horsepower and 833 pound-feet on the Turbo mannequin. So count on wholesome numbers from a future RS6 Avant E-Tron.
The smaller RS4 Avant, a forbidden fruit within the United States, will even stay to see one other era with a unique identify. The future RS5 Avant will make use of a plug-in hybrid arrangement, per an announcement made by former Audi Sport Head of Development Oliver Hoffmann in 2019.
At the RS6 GT’s international debut, an organization spokesperson stated we should always “stay tuned” for performance-oriented Avant fashions. Audi Product Marketing Manager Kenneth Dose assured lovers quick wagons are right here to remain: “I think the past has proven that there was a past for the wagons, and when we look at the cars and how beautiful cars like that still can be developed, we think there’s definitely a future.”
The competitors isn’t abandoning potent wagons both. BMW lastly has an M3 Touring in its ever-growing M portfolio and can quickly convey again the M5 Touring. The former isn’t bought within the United States, however a number of studies state the latter would possibly simply get a US visa. Bavaria’s giant property goes to debut later in 2024 with a plug-in hybrid V8 rumored to make over 700 hp. Come 2025, a beefier M3 CS Touring will hit the market.
At Mercedes, the AMG C63 has misplaced its brawny V8 in favor of an intricate plug-in hybrid powertrain primarily based round a four-cylinder, 2.0-liter engine. The long-roof mannequin is not destined for the US market both.
Although the German luxurious trio has been obsessive about launching SUVs of all sizes, it is not giving up on good ol’ estates. The thrilling ones will all be electrified to fulfill more and more stringent emissions rules, albeit the M3 Touring will not get a charging port in its present era. However, BMW M has confirmed an electrical M3 sedan is deliberate on the Neue Klasse platform, so an equal wagon looks as if an informed guess.
The 2020s are possible going to symbolize the final full decade of quick wagons with a combustion engine at first turns into electrical. Some of the automobiles would possibly survive into the early 2030s, however the clock is already ticking for ICE energy in a efficiency property.