2018 Audi RS4 Avant Hits 'Ring, Expect Porsche Panamera 2.9L Twin-Turbo V6 Power

While we all know the RS4 is givin up on its naturally aspirated V8 to return to its roots (the original B5 generation packed a twin-turbo V6, remember?), so far we only had rumors suggesting motivation would come from a 2.9-liter mill.

As it happens, Porsche recently introduced the second generation of the Panamera, with the 4S model being powered by a twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6. Given the way things go in the Volkswagen Group nowadays, this should probably mean we have a match. If this turns out to be true, the only question that remains unanswered has to do with the number of components that sets the two mills apart - you can probably expect the intake, exahaust and ECU mapping to be different.

After all, such a path would be much more exciting than the one pointing out to the RS4 getting a pumped-up twin-turbo version of the 3.0-liter TFSI in the new S4. Regardless, the output of the thing should sit in between 450 and 500 horses.

The family-orientated RS has shown up at the Nurburgring earlier this week, with the Audi dropping tons of hot laps. Our spy shooters, who are spending the summer burning in Green Hell, have caught the speed demon on camera, hence the "play" button at the bottom of the page.

The B9 Audi RS4 Avant is expected to show up by mid-2017, as a 2018 model. Ingolstadt is still undecided on whether the less-than-wagon-loving American customers should be treated with such a model.

Hopefully, the voice of the upcoming RS4 will become stronger by the time the machine enters production, making the downsizing easier to live with.