- The redesigned 2026 Audi A5 will quickly spawn a high-performance RS 5 flagship
- The brand new RS 5 will include liftback and wagon physique kinds
- Energy will doubtless come from a plug-in hybrid powertrain constructed round a twin-turbo V-6
Audi has a brand new A5 headed to showrooms shortly as a 2026 mannequin, and as soon as once more there might be a high-performance RS 5 flagship, prototypes for that are nonetheless out testing.
Our newest spy pictures present a prototype for an RS 5 liftback, but additionally out testing is an RS 5 Avant wagon.
The redesigned A5 is predicated on Volkswagen Group’s new Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) structure designed for fuel and hybrid vehicles, and this time round there are solely the liftback and wagon physique kinds for many markets, whereas a conventional sedan possibility is out there completely in China.
The earlier era did not have a wagon physique type, however it did supply coupe and convertible physique kinds along with a liftback. The coupe and convertible will not be repeated with the brand new era attributable to low demand.
2025 Audi A5 S Line
The redesigned A5 made its debut final July, in common A5 and sporty S5 guises. The RS 5 is anticipated to debut late this yr or early subsequent, which means it would doubtless be supplied as a 2027 mannequin within the U.S. The A5 and S5 are due in showrooms this spring or summer time.
We all know the most recent prototype is for an RS 5 and never the A5 or S5 due to the big intakes within the entrance fascia, the huge fenders housing a widened monitor, the massive cross-drilled brake rotors, and the signature RS oval exhaust suggestions.
Audi hasn’t talked about plans for a brand new RS 5, however the automobile is anticipated to characteristic a plug-in hybrid powertrain utilizing the identical twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V-6 discovered within the earlier RS 5. The addition of a number of electrical motors ought to assist increase energy from the earlier RS 5’s 444 hp. That can let it put up a combat towards the 671 hp of the Mercedes-Benz AMG C 63 S E Efficiency, which can also be a plug-in hybrid.
The RS 5 liftback is nearly sure for the U.S. market, although the jury continues to be out on whether or not Audi will carry over the RS 5 Avant. The automaker at the moment sells the larger RS 6 Avant, although 2025 would be the automobile’s remaining mannequin yr. Each an electrical RS 6 Avant E-Tron and a plug-in hybrid RS 7 Avant will fill the hole.
