The RS6 Avant and the RS7 Sportback get more oomph
Someone at Audi must have looked at these two models and thought that they weren't fast enough. PHOTO FROM AUDI
To say the Audi RS6 and RS7 Sportback are slow cars would be as wrong as wrong could be. Both models are insanely fast and can outrun almost all other vehicles on the road today—but for Audi, that’s apparently not enough.
To enable you to get your groceries home at ludicrous speed, the Germans have sent both cars back to the workshop and added some more power and other enhancements.
The result are two speed machines that now carry the name “performance” at the end, and will easily pull small planets out of orbit with their sheer bucketloads of brutal power.
The weapons-grade powerplant was made even more potent. PHOTO FROM AUDI
Larger turbos and an increase in boost pressure from 2.4 to 2.6 bar push the 4.0-liter V8 twin-turbo fitted to both models up to 630hp and 850Nm.
The result is a supercar-like 0-100km/h time of just 3.4 seconds, which is even more impressive if you consider that both cars weigh just over two tons and are basically full-size family wagons.
Passengers also get a better sound experience thanks to a reduced amount of insulation between the engine compartment and the cabin, a step that also saves some weight.
Audi thinks that it can make your daily grocery runs a whole lot faster and more fun. PHOTOS FROM AUDI
As you’d expect from the mechanical surgeons at Audi, the approach taken for these special models was more surgical than a sledgehammer, and other improvements, therefore, include an eight-speed Tiptronic that now features faster shifting times, and a lighter and more compact self-locking center diff.
Power goes to all four wheels at a standard ratio of 40:60, but if needed, torque can also be sent to that side of the car that needs it most—up to 70% to the front or 85% to the rear.
You will want to get the bigger wheels for weight savings. PHOTOS FROM AUDI
Both cars come with 21-inch 10-spoke star-design aluminum rims as standard, with five Y-spoke-design 22-inch rims—available in either burnished glossy metallic black, matte gray, matte black, or matte neodymium gold—as options. Pick the latter one and you’ll get a 5kg weight reduction per wheel compared to the standard wheels on the normal RS6 and RS7.
The RS7 is for the executive who wants to carve corners in between meetings. PHOTOS FROM AUDI
The six different drive modes have also been tweaked for a more dynamic experience, and coasting mode—where the combustion engine switches off and the car coasts along at speeds of up to 160km/h—is now only available when the efficiency profile is active. You can’t save the planet and burn rubber at the same time after all, it seems.
Both cars also come with the RS Dynamic Package as standard. This box of tricks increases the top speed to 280km/h, adds dynamic all-wheel steering and also the Quattro sport differential on the rear axle. Spend a few more bucks and you can have the RS Dynamics Package Plus fitted.
That one brings the top speed up to 305km/h and adds a massive carbon-ceramic brake system to the equation. Humongous 440mm discs at the front and 370mm ones at the rear not only reduce weight by a further 34kg, but also stop the car on a dime.
You can still get the interior with red accents if blue isn't your thing. PHOTOS FROM AUDI
The interior has been changed a little and now features blue accents as well as special LED lights that project the words “RS Performance” onto the floor when you open the doors—just in case you forgot what car you’re getting into.
A number of other design options are also available, and customers can fiddle around with the thousands of possible combinations of materials and colors with a special new configurator.
Once behind the wheel, the lucky pilot can make use of blinking shift indicators in the Audi virtual cockpit that will add some motorsport feels to the weekly mall run. Both cars are available in their home country for €135,000 (P7.94 million) each.
Keyword: Audi cranks power up to 11 with two new RS Performance models