Latest spy shots reveal the true width of the hot hybrid wagon’s swollen fenders
by Chris Chilton
April 27, 2024 at 07:59
- The high-performance Audi RS5 Avant will have a widebody design with a more aggressive and muscular aesthetic compared to the standard A5 Avant.
- It will retain the current model’s 2.9-liter V6 turbocharged engine with the addition of a hybrid system for improved performance and efficiency.
- This new naming scheme positions the RS5 Avant as the successor to the high-performance RS4 Avant sold overseas.
Audi’s RS sedans and wagons aren’t always the most exciting or flamboyant cars to drive, even if they’re not short of performance. But when the covers finally come off this RS5 either later this year or early in 2025 (either as a 2025MY or 2026MY in North America), we have a serious hunch it’s going to easily beat its BMW M3 Touring and Mercedes C63 wagon in a visual pose down.
Just look at the width of the thing. It’s absolutely enormous, an almost grotesque parody of the sensible new A5 Avant that’s spent three hours every night for the last year working delts in the gym. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
More: 2026 Audi RS5 Avant PHEV Sticks It To The AMG C63 By Sticking With V6 Power
The front fenders are so wide that Audi’s been able to make space for an air vent just behind the front wheel, and though the rear arches look like placeholder extensions rather than the finished complete rear quarter panels, the wheels are pushed so far out that the real fenders are guaranteed to be equally wide.
We’ve seen the RS5 testing before, but the prototype in these latest shots has lost the camo wrap on both its central grille mesh, revealing a double diamond pattern, as well as the massive corner vents flanking it.
Also visible are a new set of triple-five-spoke forged alloy wheels and Audi’s latest matrix LED headlights whose LED segments can shine individually to provide different patterns and messages.
Spy photos Baldauf
If you’re wondering why we’re calling this an RS5 rather than an RS4 it’s because Audi is moving its ICE cars into odd-numbered badged and reserving even numbers for EVs. So while there almost certainly will be an RS4 along eventually, it’ll be battery-powered, while the combustion wagon gets an RS5 badge, something previously used by the top-performing versions of the old A5 two-door coupe and A5 Sportback four-door coupe lines.
Hybridized V6 Brings A Power Boost
That’s not all that’s new for the RS5. It’s going hybrid, though that doesn’t mean it’s downsizing to a four-cylinder powertrain like its Mercedes-AMG C63 rival has done. No, the RS5 is reportedly sticking with 2.9-liter turbocharged V6 power but will add hybrid assistance to significantly improve both power over today’s 444 hp (450 PS) and efficiency with it.
It’ll be interesting to see if Audi Sport configures its PHEV system to deliver power at the expense of range (the AMG can only do 8 miles / 13 km on a charge of its tiny 6.1 kWh battery), but we won’t know that until nearer the launch. One thing we do know is that the RS5 is going to need a huge horsepower injection to keep up with the AMG, which cranks out a massive 671 hp (680 PS).
Update: This story has been revised to include new information and a fresh set of spy shots.