Audi Says 8 More RS or R Models Coming in Next 2 Years
CARS.COM — On the eve of the 2017 New York International Auto Show, Audi said it will unveil eight new models in the next 24 months from its recently minted Audi Sport division — formerly Audi Quattro — responsible for R and RS models.
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Two of those cars, the RS 3 sedan and TT RS coupe, will debut at the auto show. A third car, the just-unveiled RS 5, has been approved for U.S. sales, reprising a nameplate last sold here in 2015. Start salivating, enthusiasts: That means that by the time the Easter Bunny shows up in 2019, Audi will have five more R or RS cars on tap.
Given the performance figures for the first three, the whole group should pack serious performance. The RS 3 and TT RS share a turbocharged five-cylinder that’s good for 400 horsepower and zero-to-60 mph times of 3.9 and 3.6 seconds, respectively. The 450-hp RS 5 has no acceleration times yet, but Scott Keogh, president of Audi’s U.S. arm, told reporters today that he’s “pretty confident 3.5 [or] 3.6 seconds is what it will do.”
The timeframe doesn’t necessarily indicate on-sale dates, Audi spokeswoman Amelia Fine-Morrison told Cars.com, and the eight could include derivatives of other RS or R models — so a convertible variant, for example. Stick-shift purists will have to look elsewhere: Stephan Winkelmann, CEO of Audi Sport, told us that none of the eight will offer a manual transmission, given “it would be almost impossible” to develop a stick shift that could handle all their torque.
