Audi Hints At Hotter RS6, RS7 Hybrids With More Power

By now, the world is well aware that Volkswagen Group and its network of manufacturers are diving into the electric world like an excited kid cannonballing into the community swimming pool. Porsche recently dropped the mic on its all-electric Taycan super sedan. Lamborghini has its first-ever hybrid hypercar turning heads at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. VW proper also revealed its first production EV at the show, called the ID.3. Audi has been mobilizing its e-tron fleet, but more recently the luxury brand pulled the covers off its A7 Sportback e quattro hybrid.

Meanwhile, Audi performance fans are drooling over the RS6 Avant and RS7 Sportback, both of which are fresh additions to the lineup. A report from Road & Track points to a possible future combining Audi's established fondness for horsepower with the electric renaissance, which is really just a fancy way of saying RS hybrid models could be coming soon.

During the Frankfurt show, Audi executives apparently dropped some hints that higher-level performance models for the RS6 and RS7 could get electrified, with Audi Sport's Managing Director Oliver Hoffman outright confirming that plug-in hybrid technology for RS models was coming. As for exactly which models or when it might happen, that info wasn't offered up.

As it stands, both the RS6 and RS7 are already well-positioned to dominate highways and byways. A sizable wagon with serious performance cred is always fun, and the RS6 Avant's 591-horsepower (441-kilowatt) twin-turbo V8 is a screamer. It sends the long roof and all its occupants to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds, and it's arguably the best-looking RS6 Avant of all-time. The new RS7 Sportback wears the same chiseled face and wields the same 591-hp hammer under the hood, giving Audi a serious one-two punch in an admittedly niche but absolutely awesome segment.

Both rides have their public debut happening now at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show.