Any limited-edition, range-topping V8 RS6 could arrive as soon as next year, with Grams confirming that Audi Sport will reveal a combustion car in 2024 – along with its first EV, based on the PPE architecture developed with Porsche, which is likely to be a hot version of either the upcoming Audi Q6 E-tron or Audi A6 E-tron.
Clues to the most ‘extreme’ RS6 were given by 2021’s radical, IMSA-inspired RS6 GTO concept, conceived by a team of apprentices to celebrate 40 years of Audi’s Quattro four-wheel drive system.
Modelled on the legendary Audi 90 Quattro IMSA GTO racer from the late 1990s, this outlandish one-off donned a retro red-and-white livery, track-style one-piece rims and a sprinkling of bespoke aero-enhancing bodywork elements. It was stripped out inside, too, to make way for a roll cage and bucket seats – although Grams’ preoccupation with everyday usability suggests these elements will remain on the drawing board.
Audi never confirmed whether it had fettled the concept’s drivetrain, but side-exit exhausts hinted at a degree of engine enhancement – or at the very least pointed to a much louder exhaust note.
Referring to the RS6 as “the RS model” and describing it as “the core product of our portfolio”, Grams hinted that its radical differentiation from the standard Audi A6 gives clues to what to expect from future electric RS cars, and so it remains a brand-shaping product.