It appears the high-po Audi RS6 may stick to internal combustion power, according to Britain’s evo magazine. Despite planning to convert its popular A6 range into an all-electric lineup, the Ingolstadt-based automaker is reportedly keeping ICE-power around for the midsize lineup amid other decisions to backtrack on its electrification initiatives.
Recently, Audi announced plans to rework its model nomenclature again by reverting to the company’s original theme after a failed initial attempt to overhaul the lineup naming structure. To better distinguish its EV lineup from each other and its ICE-powered siblings, just a few months ago, Audi tried overhauling its badge numbering by making odd-numbered models represent internal combustion-powered cars, while even-numbered models indicated electric vehicles. However, due to a strong backlash against the change and increased confusion, Audi backpedaled on the revisions.
The RS6 Could Retain Biturbo V-8, Except With Hybrid Assist, But Nothing’s Confirmed
A few weeks ago, a report surfaced from Britain’s CAR Magazine indicating Audi’s plan to make its high-performance RS6 an EV as part of the company’s strategy to make the entire A6 range all-electric. But now, that’s all changing as Audi reworks its EV strategy, and it’s fueling rumors that the German automaker may also be sticking to ICE power for some of its models, like the RS6.
This is bolstered by the fact that automakers around the world began pumping the brakes on their electric vehicle initiatives over the past six to eight months. Additionally, the market clearly indicated that demand wasn’t as high as everyone anticipated. Due to their low take rate, automakers are now pivoting to alternatives like gas-electric hybrids and plug-in hybrids in hopes of using them as stepping stones towards full-electric vehicles while turning back to ICE power.
On top of the dwindling market, automakers are taking more cautious steps by remaining in slight holding patterns amid major changes on the regulatory level. For instance, the current Trump Administration vowed and moved to eliminate America’s electric vehicle mandate and soften fuel economy and emissions compliance measures.
That said, evo speculates that the RS6 could retain its original biturbo V-8, or the same V-8 powering the RS7. However, this time around, it could gain electric hybrid assist with engineers essentially transplanting the same plug-in hybrid V-8 powertrain from the Porsche Panamera Turbo Hybrid, the Bentley Flying Spur, and the Lamborghini Urus SE. But nothing’s been confirmed.
Audi EVs Will Likely Retain ‘e-tron’ Badge
With Audi reverting back to its nomenclature theme, odd-numbered models will no longer be the sole indicator of ICE-powered cars and even-numbered models won’t strictly indicate EVs. For instance, with the first round of nomenclature changes, the A6 was going to become an all-electric lineup to match the initial theme change. Now, that won’t be the case and all-electric models may retain the “e-tron” label, resulting in “A6 e-tron.”
“This decision is the result of intensive discussions and also follows the wishes of our customers as well as feedback from our international dealers. Our nomenclature now provides all customers worldwide with an intuitive orientation in our portfolio. We choose the names of our models in a way that reveals size and positioning at first glance,” Marco Schubert said in a press release, one of the lead members for sales and marketing on Audi AG’s Board of Management.
Under that pretense, the RS6 supposedly won’t undergo a complete move towards electrification and instead will stick to ICE power. Additionally, given the circumstances with regulatory bodies retracting EV, fuel economy, and emissions compliance mandates, the chances for a boost in ICE-powered vehicles in the near future is much higher than a few years ago with the mandates in place.
Although nothing’s confirmed, we reached out to Audi USA for clarification and will report back and update this post if we receive a response.
Source: evo
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