Audi Sport Quattro Confirmed Dead, New RS Models Coming
There’s bad news for anyone still holding out hope that Audi might bring the Sport Quattro concept to market because Audi Sport boss Stephan Winkelmann boss says the project is dead.
“It’s a nice dream,” Winkelmann told Car and Driver. “but I think we have so much in front of us that the most important thing is to get the lineup where we need it. I think there is the opportunity for a very limited car, but this is not my top priority at the moment.”
Audi first imagined the concept on the contemporary RS5’s chassis in 2010 as a way to recall the original Quattro sports coupe. In 2013, the company updated it as the yellow Sport Quattro with a hybrid 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 TFSI engine making a combined output of 690 horsepower (515 kilowatts) and 590 pound-feet (800 Newton-meters) of torque. Audi slightly updated the design once again at the 2014 Consumer Electronics show when it introduced the red Sport Quattro Laserlight concept that featured laser-assisted versions of the company’s matrix LED headlights. After so many show cars, multiple rumors indicated that a production version was on the way.
While the Sport Quattro isn’t hitting the road, the Four Rings’ performance division is keeping very busy on other products, particularly crossovers. The RS Q3 should have bigger siblings eventually, including possible range-topping versions of the Q5, Q7, and maybe even the future Q8. All of them would use gasoline-fueled engines rather than diesel so that the models would be easier to sell globally.
Several other new RS models are also on the way, in addition to possible the trio of crossovers. Spy shots already reveal the RS4 Avant testing, and a leaked dealer presentation shows a RS5 Sportback, too. According to Car and Driver, Audi Sport is also developing next RS6 Avant for a possible release in 2019. An anonymous source tells the publication that the Allroad’s success is leading the Four Rings’ North American office to consider bringing the performance wagon over from Europe.
Motor1
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