Audi celebrates 25 years of RS with 6 new models

Have you noticed how quickly the time flies? Audi’s RS vehicle range just turned 25. And to think it began in 1994…

Let us begin with a bit of retrospective. The family’s firstborn was the Audi RS 2 Avant, which shipped with a 2.2-liter five-cylinder turbo rated at 315 hp (235 kW). It used a six-gear manual transmission to send the power to all four wheels, courtesy of the Quattro system equipped with an inter-axle limited-slip differential.

In 1999, the RS 4 Avant arrived, followed by another RS 4 in 2005. The RS 6 Avant debuted three years later.

Right now, Audi has the following models on offer: the RS 3 Sportback and Sedan, the RS 4 Avant, the RS 5 Coupe and Sportback, and the TT RS Coupe and Roadster. Good news for all fans, though: the range will expand soon! Audi says we should expect as many as six RS’s to debut before the year end, including two brand new ones.

In all likelihood, one of those will be the RS Q8 SUV. As far as we know, it will ship with a tweaked version of the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine of the Lamborghini Urus, rumored to exceed 600 hp (447 kW).

Unsurprisingly, Audi has chosen to indulge itself in an all-out celebration, launching a whole car show in Neckarsulm, Germany. The show is part of the ongoing Audi Forum and notably features the RS 8 Concept, a model that had distinct production opportunities, but never made it to the market in the end.