Audi's first "RS" vehicle was the RS2 Avant, a hot version of the 80 wagon that had been tweaked by Porsche. Now, the two companies are coming full circle by sharing the development costs of one special 2.9-liter V6.
It's already found its way under the hood of the all-new Porsche Panamera 4S and is about to be installed in the spiritual successor to the RS2, which is the RS4 Avant.
After that, we'll likely see the same twin-turbo powering the RS5 coupe, cabriolet and even a Sportback 4-door designed for the US market. But a little bird in German told us the RS Q5 is also on the agenda.
What's ridiculous is that we are even treating this as a rumor. Should we not believe that the company which invented quattro all-wheel drive wants to make a fast SUV? It wouldn't even be the first RS Q model, as that title belongs to the somewhat ill-conceived RS Q3.
About a day after the Parisian debut of the all-new Q5, we have our first rendering from X-Tomi Design. He seems to have used some of the styling elements from the TT RS, but we think keeping the Q5's current grille was a mistake.
All RS models will have a deep-set mesh. Other than that, there's nothing wrong with the rendering, which gets us excited about a potent mix of practicality, curb appeal and performance.
We mentioned the 2.9-liter engine, which is pretty much guaranteed to find its way under the hood of the RS Q5. However, some reports suggest the new 2.5-liter turbo will be used instead, which we find hard to believe. Not only is the 5-banger only available in MQB cars, which the Q5 isn't, but it stands no chance of competing with the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 and whatever BMW has cooking.
We suspect the output of the 2.9 TFSI will be exactly the same as that of the old 4.2-liter V8 which it replaces: 450 PS. However, torque will be at least 50% higher and available from low revs.
After that, we'll likely see the same twin-turbo powering the RS5 coupe, cabriolet and even a Sportback 4-door designed for the US market. But a little bird in German told us the RS Q5 is also on the agenda.
What's ridiculous is that we are even treating this as a rumor. Should we not believe that the company which invented quattro all-wheel drive wants to make a fast SUV? It wouldn't even be the first RS Q model, as that title belongs to the somewhat ill-conceived RS Q3.
About a day after the Parisian debut of the all-new Q5, we have our first rendering from X-Tomi Design. He seems to have used some of the styling elements from the TT RS, but we think keeping the Q5's current grille was a mistake.
All RS models will have a deep-set mesh. Other than that, there's nothing wrong with the rendering, which gets us excited about a potent mix of practicality, curb appeal and performance.
We mentioned the 2.9-liter engine, which is pretty much guaranteed to find its way under the hood of the RS Q5. However, some reports suggest the new 2.5-liter turbo will be used instead, which we find hard to believe. Not only is the 5-banger only available in MQB cars, which the Q5 isn't, but it stands no chance of competing with the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 and whatever BMW has cooking.
We suspect the output of the 2.9 TFSI will be exactly the same as that of the old 4.2-liter V8 which it replaces: 450 PS. However, torque will be at least 50% higher and available from low revs.