Audi Sport
Performance arm’s line-up to expand
Audi Sport will have 16 models in its line-up by 2020, including a new RS6 and RS7 and more SUVS, according to boss Stephan Winkelmann.
Audi’s performance arm currently has 11 models on its books but will launch another five in the next three years. “We’re naturally picking the segments that are growing worldwide, and SUVS is one of these,” Winkelmann said. An RS Q5 is anticipated as one of the upcoming models.
Of the current models, the RS6 Avant is the biggest seller in the UK but is expected to be superseded by the new RS3. Once those 16 models have launched, Audi Sport will take its first step into electrification, with its first electric car due in 2020 or 2021. Winkelmann said the model will be either a sporty saloon or a “coupé-ish” SUV, thanks to the packaging benefits of larger cars for electric battery packs.
Audi Sport sold 20,020 models last year, while its rival AMG, Mercedes’ performance arm, sold nearly 100,000 units, but Winkelmann insists Audi Sport is a different proposition.
“With Audi Sport, we decided not to go for volume,” he said. “We look for exclusivity. We would not do every Audi model with an RS badge on the back.” However, Audi boss Rupert Stadler has previously speculated that Audi Sport sales could double, largely thanks to growth outside Europe.
“It has big business potential that we haven’t yet explored,” Stadler said earlier this year. He declined to put a time frame on the doubling of sales but insisted it was a realistic target for the near future: “There are opportunities with the line-up and also with technology. We have some new ideas there.” When Winkelmann, who previously served as CEO of Lamborghini, was asked about his rumoured departure from Audi Sport to head up Bugatti, he replied “no comment”.