Audi will once again offer a ‘sedan’ to rival the BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C 63 S E Performance, though it’ll be more practical than those.
That’s because the Audi RS5 Sedan – like the A5 Sedan it’s based on – is actually a liftback.
It’ll replace the current RS5 Sportback, which despite the different nomenclature is also a five-door liftback.
It’ll be offered alongside the RS5 Avant, which will replace today’s RS4 Avant as Audi rejigs its naming structure to make all combustion-powered vehicles wear odd-numbered badges.
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Like the wagon before it, the RS5 sedan has been spied testing in a dazzle camouflage, though we can see its aggressive front end with large air intakes and a large diamond-patterned grille as the centrepiece.
There are large flared fenders on the rear, though those and the rear bumper itself don’t appear to be production-ready and are expected to change by the time the car launches.
As with the wagon, it’s expected the RS5 sedan will utilise a twin-turbo V6 engine with a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) setup for additional power, as evidenced by a charging port on the left-rear quarter panel.
In the context of its competition, it retains six-cylinder power as in the latest BMW M3, while adopting PHEV technology like the four-cylinder Mercedes-AMG C 63 has.
In addition to the Sedan, Audi has also been busy testing the next-generation RS5 Avant, recently spied running laps of Germany’s Nürburgring after being snapped on the road earlier this year.
These spy photos follow the reveal of the Audi A5 and S5, both of which will be offered in Avant and Sedan variants.
Coupe and convertible versions of the new A5, S5 and RS5 have yet to be spied testing, raising doubts as to whether these will even be introduced.
Audi currently offers hot RS versions of the A4 Avant and A5 Sportback and Coupe, but not the A4 Sedan or A5 Cabriolet.
In Competition guise, now the only spec offered in Australia, the current RS4 and RS5 are powered by a twin-turbocharged 2.9-litre V6 engine with 331kW of power and 600Nm of torque.
