Audi’s A5 family currently consists of coupe, convertible, and liftback body styles, but a new A5 generation revealed in July only features the liftback plus a new wagon body style.
High-performance RS 5 versions of both the liftback and wagon are planned, and a prototype for one of them, the RS 5 Avant (Avant is Audi-speak for wagons), has been spotted again, and this time we have video of it testing on Germany’s Nürburgring racetrack. Prototypes for the liftback are also out testing.
The RS 5 Avant will replace the current RS 4 Avant sold overseas as part of a shift in Audi’s naming strategy. The new strategy, announced last year, gives models with internal-combustion engines an odd number in their names and electric models an even number. It means the next A4 will be an electric vehicle.
We know the latest prototype is for an RS 5 Avant and not the regular A5 Avant because of the extra intakes in the front fascia, the wide fenders housing a widened track, the huge cross-drilled brake rotors, and the cutouts in the rear fascia to fit signature RS oval exhaust tips. The exhaust tips on the prototype appear to be temporary units only.
The prototype also sports both a fuel filler cap and a charging port, according to our photographer, indicating a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Yellow warning stickers in the windscreen seen in some of the shots also indicate some form of electrification.
The soundtrack in the latest video points to a V-6 engine serving as the internal-combustion component of the hybrid setup, and rumors point to the engine being the same twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V-6 found in the current RS 5. The current RS 5 delivers 444 hp, but the next one should have substantially more power to challenge the 671 hp of the Mercedes-Benz AMG C 63 S E Performance, which is also a plug-in hybrid.
Look for the new RS 5 to debut early next year. The liftback is almost certain for the U.S. market, though the jury is still out on whether Audi will bring over the wagon. The regular A5 wagon has already been ruled out for this market.
Audi currently sells the bigger RS 6 Avant here, though 2025 is expected to be the car’s final model year. Both an electric RS 6 Avant E-Tron and a plug-in hybrid RS 7 Avant will fill the gap, though it isn’t cleather whether both options will be offered in the U.S.