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From YourSITE.com Audi News Performance continues to be a big part of Audi’s move to dominance in the luxury automotive market. With new models such as a next-generation RS 6 and production version of the Q7 V12 TDI, the company will have no shortage of headline-grabbing debuts over the next twelve months.
This week, more photos have surfaces – this time from cold-weather testing spots. These cold-weather RS 6 mules are given away by their large oval exhaust tips in place of the quad exhaust tips of the S6. Even more interesting are the flared fender arches. More like the current RS 4 rather than the vintage Audi Coupe-inspired design like the Nurburgring car, these RS 6s show yet a different direction Audi might take stylistically. If we had to guess on fascia though, we’d suspect the blue and black examples shown here will give up their S6 carryover pieces for a front and rear treatment more like those on the Nurburgring car.
Under the hood is said to beat a twin-turbocharged V10. While a source close to Fourtitude hinted just weeks ago that this might be a twin turbocharged V8 FSI as with the previous car, the V10 seems the more likely scenario for now. Reliable sources within Audi suggest power in the range of 600-650 HP even though many magazines have reported it at a more conservative 550. We’re hoping our source is the more accurate in this case. Audi is developing the RS 6 to be sold as both sedan and Avant in Europe, as shown here in both sedan and Avant guise. If the car does come to the USA, something that hasn’t yet been determined, expect it in sedan form only. Audi product planners see the romance of the Avant, but sales of the C5 S6 were so lackluster that a business case is very hard to make for such a vehicle.
Also spotted in those wintry climes was an interesting looking Q7. With a dull color and factory 20-inch wheels, the car might easily blend in with the scenery, though taking a closer look suggests this to be a development mule of the upcoming Q7 V12 TDI. Note especially the front fascia of the SUV, similar to that of the Q7 V12 TDI design study shown in Detroit last January. Also of great interest is the gargantuan set of ceramic brakes squeezed behind those 20-inch wheels.
Don’t expect the Q7 to wear an RSQ7 style badge as we’re told that doesn’t meet the naming restrictions placed on Audi when it settled with self-appointed-alphabet-owner Infiniti.
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