Meet the new Audi RS5 Avant and RS5 Saloon, Audi’s first ever plug-in hybrid RS models. Which means you can now blast to 62mph in 3.6 seconds and then silently crawl through a village pretending you care about emissions.
Power comes from a 2.9 litre twin-turbo V6 paired with an electric motor kicking out a combined 510PS. That is enough to comfortably embarrass most things at the traffic lights while still managing up to 52 miles of electric only range. So technically this is a performance car and a sensible family EV.
Kind of!
Prices start at £89,400.00 for the saloon and £91,300.00 for the Avant.
Still, the recipe sounds solid. Big power, Quattro grip, big arches and enough hybrid tech to keep the emissions people happy. Audi says the electric motor sharpens response and adds instant torque, which is corporate speak for “its proper quick down the road”.
Let’s be fair the Avant is the one that everyone will want. Fast estates remain cooler than SUVs, no matter how many coupe crossovers manufacturers keep launching.
The interesting thing for me is what this means for Audi Sport going forward. RS cars used to be all about lovely sounding engines and being able to drive quickly with safe handling. Now this seems to be about hopefully a lovely sounding engine and charge cables.
Progress!
UK order books are open now with first deliveries landing this summer.
About the author
Sheridan is an independent automotive editor and founder of We Blog Any Car. With over 30 years’ experience in the motor industry, his work focuses on market insight, buying signals, and real world automotive analysis, with a particular interest in the modern classic market.
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