Next-gen Audi RS6 to go plug-in hybrid first, then full electric

The 2026 Audi RS6 will be the last generation in the iconic model’s history to use a combustion engine, before the introduction of a fully electric model.

This year marks 20 years since the RS6 was launched, but it’s the next decade that could see the largest shift in the model’s history.

The current C8 RS6 is due to stay in production until the end of 2025, before a C9 model is introduced.

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Audi has confirmed the next-generation RS6 will use a plug-in hybrid EV drivetrain, stepping up from the current model’s 48-volt mild hybrid system which is paired to a monstrous 441kW/800Nm 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8.

Former head of Audi Sport and current head of Research and Development for the Ingolstadt brand, Stephan Reil, made the admission when speaking to Wheels in Canada as part of the RS6’s 20th birthday celebrations.

“Of course this [hybridisation] is the way to go, in the next generation I can tell you it will have more hybridisation,” he said. “This is our way toward fully electrified cars.”

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While Reil would not be drawn on the specifics of the hybrid drivetrain, Audi has been clear in its previous three-stage product plan to electrification stepping up from mild hybrid to plug-in hybrid, and then onto full electrification.

A plug-in hybrid C9 RS6 would then be followed by a fully electric C10 RS6, which would launch in 2030s.

Audi has previously confirmed it will stop developing new internal combustion engines in 2026. Interestingly, the brand has not announced a deadline for when it will begin exclusively selling EVs, just that clean sheet combustion engine research and development will end.

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It should be noted that despite not committing to an EV-only sales model, Audi has said it will offer 20 new electric models by 2025. Balancing that somewhat is the fact that 60 to 70 per cent of its sales in 2025 are still expected to be models that have a combustion engine.

Reil pointed to the progression of existing RS6 generations when speaking about future models.

“It started about a generation after C6 that CO2 emissions got more and more important,” he explained.

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“Then on the C7 we had the downsizing from a V10 to V8, we brought in cylinder deactivation, and on the C8 we now have a 48-volt mild hybrid system.”

The former head of Audi Sport has a stong connection to the RS6, having been responsible for the development of the first three generations, and creating the initial concept for the current C8.

Reil says there are some challenges to introducing a proper hybrid drivetrain over the existing mild hybrid, but also plenty of advantages.

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“The hybrid system, first of all means there are additional parts that need to be packaged to get into the car,” he told Wheels.

“Then of course it gives you more possibilities in driving modes, and you can use the electrification on certain weak points of your combustion engine.”