NEW RS6 SET TO LAUNCH IN 2019

Audi is developing its next RS6 with a new twin-turbocharged V8 engine to give it substantially more firepower in its fight against the BMW M5 and Mercedes-AMG E63.

The new RS6 is due to make its debut at the 2019 Frankfurt motor show and will be built alongside the technically related RS7 at Audi’s Neckarsulm plant in Germany.

Like its bigger brother, the RS6 will pack a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 petrol unit, as used by the Porsche Panamera Turbo and Lamborghini Urus, to offer 605hp.

That’s the same power output quoted for the limited-volume RS6 Avant Plus and 45hp more than the previous regular RS6. The new engine is also said to deliver an extra 50Nm, at 800Nm.

By comparison, the M5 offers 600hp and 750Nm, and the most powerful version of the E63, the S, delivers 612hp and 850Nm.

Drive for the RS6 will be sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed torque-converter automatic gearbox and traditional Torsen torque-sensing Quattro system.

The new RS6 is also set to have a near 80kg reduction in kerb weight largely thanks to the use of a secondgeneration MLB structure. As a result, it looks good for a 0-100kph time of around 3.6sec — 0.1sec quicker than the time quoted for the RS6 Plus. Refinements in aerodynamic efficiency are also set to give an incremental rise in top speed to 310kph.

The RS6 will arrive after the fifthgeneration S6, which is also due in 2019. The new S6 will swap its predecessor’s 4.0-litre V8 motor for a twin- turbocharged 2.9-litre V6, which is both lighter and more potent. It’s expected to deliver in excess of 450hp and 550Nm via an eight-speed automatic gearbox and Quattro four-wheel drive.