Fans of preposterously powerful electric wagons should look away now because Audi has reportedly killed the RS6 e-tron.
Sources within Audi have told Top Gear development of the RS6 e-tron has been stopped and the project cancelled. There are apparently no technical reasons behind the move, but rather the projected sales figures were too low to justify the development cost.
If true, this means the fastest A6 e-tron for the foreseeable future is the S6 e-tron (below), which has a dual-motor all-wheel drive system making a total of 370kW or 405kW with launch control enabled.
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In the right conditions it can rip up the 0-100km/h standard in 3.9s This, in the grand scheme of things, is pretty darn fast. However, the S6 e-tron misses out the wildly flared fenders, oversized wings and the general sense of drama that comes with an RS model.
Although the RS6 e-tron is seemingly not going happen, there will still be an RS6 (previous generation pictured below). A recent report from Autocar indicated the new RS6 will be powered by a turbocharged V8 plug-in hybrid drivetrain.
It’s possible the RS6’s drivetrain will share a lot in common with Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, which has a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 mated to an eight-speed dual-clutch automated transmission with a built-in electric motor, and a 29.5kWh battery pack.
Pedal to the metal, the 575kW/1000Nm Panameria Turbo S E-Hybrid can complete the 0-100km/h run in 2.9 seconds. Driven a little more sedately, it has a 92km electric-only driving range under the old NEDC testing cycle.
The next new RS6 will reportedly be offered in both wagon and sedan body styles.
Although the A6 and A6 e-tron both wear A6 badges, they have distinct bodies, interiors and underpinnings. The petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid A6 range is built on the Volkswagen Group’s Platform Premium Combustion (PPC), an evolution of the long-running MLB architecture for front- and all-wheel drive cars with longitudinal engines.
The A6 e-tron lineup, though, uses Platform Premium Electric, an electric-only architecture which was co-developed by Audi and Porsche. PPE serves as the basis of the Audi A6 e-tron, as well as the second-generation Porsche Macan and Audi Q6 e-tron.
Under an earlier model renaming plan, Audi was going to shift all of its internal combustion models to odd number names, with even number names reserved for EVs.
The company got as far replacing the fifth-generation A4 sedan and wagon in late 2024 with a new A5 sedan, wagon and liftback range, but got cold feet earlier this year when it decided the successor to the fifth-generation A6 would keep the A6 name instead of becoming the A7.
MORE: Everything Audi A6