NEW AUDI RS6 TO KEEP V8 AS 730BHP PHEV ALONGSIDE EV

Both hybrid and electric performance A6s are being readied for 2026

- GREG KABLE

The next Audi RS6 will be completely electrified for its fifth generation in 2026, when it will arrive with both a plugin hybrid V8 powertrain and a fully electric one - a first for Audi Sport.

Set to rival both the electric BMW i5 M60 and the PHEV BMW M5, the new RS6 will be the most powerful version yet, producing as much as 730bhp in combustion-engined form.

And for the first time since 2010, the RS6 will offer a choice of estate and saloon bodystyles.

The decision to continue offering a combustionengined RS6 comes two years after Audi Sport confirmed its intention to take the RS6 fully electric.

Slower than anticipated EV sales in important markets prompted a revision of that plan, with Audi now instead seeking to extend the life cycles of key ICE models well into the next decade.

The dual-powertrain approach is underpinned by a dual-platform strategy.

The electric RS6 E-tron sits on the Volkswagen Group's Premium Platform Electric (PPE). Meanwhile, the combustion-engined RS6 adopts the Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) an evolution of the MLB architecture used by the current RS6, which was introduced in 2019.