Audi RS6: Faster, more powerful variants in the works

Audi’s ultimate family hauler, the formidable RS6, will soon be getting even faster with new variants to be revealed in the near future.

The C8 generation is the fourth in the RS6 lineage and was launched in 2020, powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8.

With 441kW/800Nm outputs, the C8 sits atop the totem pole of fast wagons in the Audi line-up. However, a faster and more focused version is already in the works, likely to be badged again as the Audi RS6 Performance.

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Audi has traditionally produced a faster, more focused version of the RS6 near the end of each generations model life. In the C5 and C6 these were known as the ‘Plus’, before Audi moved to the ‘Performance’ nomenclature for the C7, while also using the badge on models like the R8.

Wheels spoke to Eva Stania, Audi’s spokesperson for the entire A6 model line as well as R8, while driving all four generations of RS6 in Canada as part of the brand’s 20th birthday celebrations for the model.

Her initial response to whether there is customer demand for a faster version of the C8 was initially coy, before revealing that a Performance variant is likely to become a reality.

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“Wait and see,” she said. “We have some ideas, so just wait and see”

“You drove the RS6 C7 as a Performance. We recently launched the R8 RWD as a Performance, so you can be pretty sure that we will follow up the Performance strategy.”

The good news for RS6 fans doesn’t stop there though, with Wheels understanding there is not just a single Performance variant in the works, but another addition to the line-up as well.

While the Audi employees we spoke to were keen to remain tight-lipped on what this additional variant would be, they did hint it would be “very special”.

Unlike the Performance lineage, there isn’t a historical precedent for this mystery variant.

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Wheels expects the first of the new variants to be revealed to the world by the end of the year. This timing is particularly important as 2022 marks twenty years since the original C5 RS6 was launched.

The second variant wouldn’t be expected to be revealed until nearer the end of the generation’s production run – slated to finish near 2025.

What remains unconfirmed is exactly how much extra power will be produced by the upcoming RS6 Performance. Power outputs of the current RS6 are healthy, with the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 producing 441kW and 800Nm.

We can get a guide on what to expect from a Performance variant due to the fact that the RS6’s engine is used in a raft of other Volkswagen Group models, from the Porsche Cayenne and Panamera, to the Lamborghini Urus, and even Audi sibling the RS Q8.

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For more powerful tunes we need to focus on the Urus (478kW/850Nm), Panamera (463kW/820Nm) and Cayenne (471kW/850Nm).

Audi could well give a RS6 Performance model its own tune, but those three models provide a ballpark figure of what could be possible.

Along with more power, it is likely the RS6 Performance will introduce upgrades to the suspension and brakes to match the greater dynamic focus.

One thing that won’t be tweaked is the styling. With no planned mid-life facelift, the RS6’s maximum-attack design will be left as is until it finishes production.