Audi Australia announces the more powerful RS 6 Avant and RS 7 Sportback with some new trim and an elevation into Audi’s new Performance range.
Audi Australia expands its Audi Performance range with the addition of the RS 6 Avant and RS 7 Sportback, offering more power, added features and trim upgrades to match the new badge and rank.
On the positioning shuffle with Audi’s larger RS models, Audi Australia managing director Andrew Doyle says: “Discerning customers at this very top end of the luxury sports car market are always looking for an edge, and the new Audi Sport RS Performance models really offer a captivating combination of dynamic ability and individual design touches.”
Both cars are powered by a cleverly packaged 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine producing 445kW and 700Nm with an overboost function to deliver 750Nm within brief periods. With it engaged, both the RS 7 Sportback and RS 6 Avant can sprint from 0-100km/h in 3.7 seconds. Should the Dynamic Package Plus option be included – which also adds carbon ceramic brakes - the electronically-governed top speed of 250km/h can be raised to 280km/h or 305km/h.
Power is channelled via an eight-speed automatic transmission to all four wheel via the rear-biased quattro all-wheel drive system. There’s also active torque vectoring via the rear differential and an active sports exhaust.
Fuel consumption has been considered too with the engines able to intelligently deactivate cylinders during periods undemanding use. The result is an estimated 10 percent improvement, where Audi claims official figures of 9.6-litres/100km for the RS 7 Sportback and 9.7-litres/100km for the RS 6 Avant.
Standard exterior kit with the new Performance editions includes a set of 21-inch matte wheels, a titanium look to the car’s grille, window surrounds and bodykit. Audi also includes their Matrix LED headlights and dynamic front and rear indicators.
Both Performance models come with RS Adaptive Air Suspension, panoramic glass roof (sunroof for the RS 7 Sportback), heads-up display, Audi’s Parking System Plus, and a 360-degree camera array.
New interior surfaces are offered with an Alcantara or Valcona leather trim option to go with the RS leather-wrapped flat-bottomed steering wheel. Adaptive cruise control, a total of eight airbags, tyre pressure monitoring system, Audi pre-sense plus, and automatic emergency braking are some of the standard safety features.
All of this comes at a price, however, with ‘Performance’ variants of both these cars coming in at $245,400 for the RS 6 Avant and $258,000 for the RS 7 Sportback versus the older non-'Performance' price of $229,610 and $241,610 respectively.
Of course, optional extras raises the take-home price quite significantly. The Dynamic Plus Package option, for example, will run you an extra $25,840 and the Carbon styling pack costs an additional $8,500.
