News / 18 March 2021 / Albert du Toit

New Audi RS6 Avant and RS7 for South Africa – Pricing and details

Audi has announced that the newest generation of the RS6 Avant and RS7 Sportback are coming to South Africa.

These vehicles have undergone a complete design overhaul inside and out, pack all the best features, and – most importantly – feature a more powerful engine.

Design

Starting with the RS6, the body has been widened by around 40mm, with broad, flared wheel arches.

The RS7 is also around 40mm wider than the standard variant, and has a grand-tourer design at 5-metres long.

Both models are then differentiated from the standard variants through the addition of a hood with power domes, flatter LED headlights, and a honeycomb-patterned singleframe grille in gloss black.

The grille surrounds and quattro nomenclature have been removed when compared to previous generations, and side inlets inspired by the R8 supercar sit at the edge of the nose.

Due to its estate body style, the RS6 gets a roof spoiler and a longer, flatter roofline than its sibling.

An RS-specific rear bumper gives an aggressive look, and oval tailpipes provide exceptional notes.

The RS7, on the other hand, has a sloping roofline, a trailing edge light strip at the rear, an active spoiler that emerges at speeds of over 100km/h, and the RS-specific rear bumper with oval tailpipes.

Features

“A stripped-down look with sporty accents are the key stylistic elements in the interior of the new Audi RS6 Avant and RS7 Sportback,” said Audi.

The cabin is spacious, and follows a taut design language with clearly defined contours.

The MMI infotainment screen is inlayed into the dash so that it’s nearly impossible to discern between the screen and veneer, and the upper display can be used to call up an overview of system temperatures, g-forces, tyre pressure, and entertainment features.

The Audi virtual cockpit, consisting of a digital instrument cluster, is available as standard on both of these performance models and features the RS Performance and Sport layouts.

It features a special RS display for performance-focused driving and provides critical track data for the days when it is needed.

The flatbottom RS steering wheel is heated, and can be used to switch between the RS1 and RS2 drive modes, among other things.

There are also large paddle shifters, Valcona leather RS sport seats, and an RS design package with contrast stitching to add some colour to the cabin.

The RS6 has a luggage capacity of 565 litres, which can be extended to 1,680 litres with the seats folded flat.

The RS7 makes do with a maximum of 1,390 litres with its rear bench folded over.

Safety systems

These top-of-the-range vehicles are treated to the best safety features that the brand has at their disposal.

The cars will help out their drivers through the standard fitment of:

Lane change assist
360-degree camera
Park distance control
Audi pre-sense rear package
Adaptive cruise control and assist

Audi Connect is also standard, and provides the occupants with top-of-the-line connectivity features.

It can be used for functions such as online traffic information, point of interest search, sat nav, and live weather updates – and includes Car2X services.

The latter serves to provide safety and service features in the event of an emergency, and will allow an emergency safety or service call to an Audi call centre.

Additional functionalities, accessed through the MyAudi App, include a car finder, remote unlocking, and speed and theft alerts.

Performance

Below the hood of both these vehicles sits a 4.0-litre TFSI, twin-turbo, mild hybrid engine that generates 441kW and 800Nm.

This will see these cars go from 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds, with a top speed electronically limited to 250km/h.

The mild hybrid system, along with cylinder-on-demand technology, are two high-tech features which innovatively use power and boost efficiency.

All these technologies are connected to an 8-speed tiptronic transmission with optimized shift times, and power is sent to all four wheels via the quattro permanent all-wheel-drive system.

Launch control is also available, and torque control allows up to 85% of power to be sent to the rear wheels.

Both models then gets RS adaptive air suspension, which makes the RS6 and RS7 sit 20mm lower than the standard variants – and another 10mm dip is experienced at speeds of over 120km/h.