Plug-in hybrid then fully electric future confirmed for next Audi RS6

With 2022 marking the 20^th anniversary of the Audi RS6, the Four Rings have sprung an unexpected surprise by confirming a switch towards complete electrification only in two generation’s time.

In spite of it being reported two years ago that all RS models will utilise a single powertrain come Audi’s eventual electric-only reliance in 2034, Australia’s wheels.com.au reports that the process, in the case of the RS6, will be gradually applied in the form of a plug-in hybrid next generation in 2026.

At present, the internally designated C8 RS6 derives motivation from a 48-volt mild-hybrid assisted twin-turbo 4.0 TFSI V8 outputting 441kW/800Nm.

Introduced three years ago as the first electrically aided RS6, the C8 will reportedly remain in production until the end of 2025, before being replaced by the plug-in hybrid C9 and ultimately, the all-electric C10 likely to be underpinned by the replacement for the A6 that provides its foundation.

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“This [hybridisation] is the way to go; in the next generation, I can tell you it will have more hybridisation. This is our way toward fully electrified cars,” current Audi Research and Development Head Stephan Reil told Wheels.

In a move already confirmed for the next generation RS4, and possibly also the on-again, off-again replacement for the R8, Reil said the move towards electrification commenced well before the brand’s planned roll-out of 20 electric vehicles by 2025 as evident by RS6’s reduction in displacement and cylinder count.

Originally unveiled in 2002 as the successor to RS2 Avant that started the performance estate segment in 1994, the C5 RS6 sported a twin-turbocharged 4.2-litre V8 that made 331kW/580Nm.

Following the C5, the C6 RS6 debuted in 2008 powered by a twin-turbo 5.0-litre V8 that made 426kW/650Nm, while the C7 reverted back to eight cylinders and bi-turbocharging with outputs 445kW/750Nm at launch in 2013.

According to Reil, the change in focus for the RS6 “started about a generation after C6 that CO² emissions got more and more important. Then on the C7 we had the downsizing from a V10 to V8, we brought in cylinder deactivation, and on the C8 we now have a 48-volt mild hybrid system”.

While nothing else about the next generation RS6 is currently known, a report from 2017 about its sibling, the RS7, hinted at outputs of 515kW/850Nm using the mentioned bi-turbo V8 and plug-in hybrid setup.

At present, only sister Volkswagen Group brand Porsche uses the above-mentioned configuration in the Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid and Panamera S Turbo E-Hybrid with respective outputs of 500kW/900Nm and 515kW/870Nm.

Despite the current secrecy, don’t be surprised if more details and rumours start emerging over the coming months leading up to and into 2023.