Volkswagen’s subsidiaries have been busy cozying up to each other now that, thanks to Dieselgate, there is less money to spend on personalizing each brand. As such, Audi and Porsche are sharing platforms and engines around like a joint at a Snoop Dog concert. Thanks to a recent leak of an Audi slideshow to motoring outlet Motor 1 from a dealer presentation in Norway, we now know that the next generation of Audi RS4 Avant and RS5 will have more power than the Porsche Panamera 4S, which they share an engine with.
Additionally, the RS lineup will bloom an extra flower in the form of the RS5 Sportback, a rival to the nonexistent BMW M4 Gran Coupe that we all wish was real. While it’s no secret that the RS4 Avant and RS5 Coupe were going to share the Volkswagen Group’s 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 TFSI engine with the Panamera 4S, the fact that it will be more powerful than the Porsche is news to us. While the Panamera 4S makes 440 hp, the RS models will gain an additional 10 horses in the transplant. The larger wallop will be the increase in torque, which goes from 406 lb-ft in the Porsche to 442 lb-ft in the Audis. This will help the RS models accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under four seconds and reach a top speed of 155 mph.
Autobahn users and blatant criminals reserve the right to ask Audi to de-limit the cars in order to hit 174 mph if they opt for the Dynamics package. As it turns out, the leaked slides are highly informative because they detail the launch dates for the RS4 Avant and RS5 Coupe. The Avant begins construction in the factory in December of 2017 while the RS5 comes a bit earlier, in June of 2017. It’s unclear what date the RS5 Sportback will be built, but the source mentioned that it would be after the RS4 Avant and RS5 Coupe. With the BMW M3 and M4 out while Mercedes has just released the C63 AMG, Germany’s battle of roided entry-level luxury bruisers is heating up again. Note: RS5 Sportback images from rendering artist Theophilus Chin.
