2016 Audi RS4 to return as a saloon

Performance version of the Audi A4 looks set to return as a saloon and with a turbocharged V6 engine

The latest version of the Audi RS4 will go on sale as early as next year and will be available in saloon format once more.

A 2016 launch means that the RS4 joins the range much sooner than previous generations of the performance-focused A4. The fourth generation of Audi A4 didn’t get the RS4 version until 2012, despite the standard car going on sale in 2008.

However, Horst Glaser, Audi’s head of chassis development, said demand has brought the next generation of RS4 forwards. “Our customers want the RS version earlier in the product lifecycle while the car is still new,” he said.

There are no confirmed details on the new RS4’s engine but, in a departure from the outgoing version, which uses a 4.2-litre, 444bhp naturally aspirated V8, it is expected to be an all-new turbocharged V6 petrol unit. The next-generation engine is set to improve significantly on the power offered by the current V8, despite being a 3.0-litre unit. The new engine is likely to produce in the region of 500bhp, which would put it significantly ahead of its rivals at Mercedes and BMW. The C63 AMG S currently makes 503bhp, while the current BMW M3 has 425bhp.

The outgoing RS4 is offered only in Avant estate form, but this is set to change for the next generation. The decision to offer the performance model in a saloon version has been driven by markets such as China and the US, where there is more demand for the four-door model. The Avant will continue to be sold, and it is likely that both will be offered in the UK when the car goes on sale here.

Elsewhere in the A4 range, Audi is promising a 1.6-litre diesel engine that will essentially be a micro hybrid, with a large, 48V battery powering the turbocharger. The engine itself is the one from the Volkswagen Passat Bluemotion, in which it emits 95g/km. However, Professor Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi’s board member for technical development, said: “I want to do this because it's an easy way to reduce CO2 emissions.”

It is reckoned to cut CO2 emissions by up to 13g/km or so, so it could result in the A4’s emissions dropping as low as 82g/km.

However, the four-cylinder ACT petrol engines, which use cylinder-on-demand technology to save fuel, will not be offered, as Audi reckons they work better in smaller cars like the A1 and A4. Audi is also not planning to offer an electric e-tron or a three-cylinder version for the foreseeable future.

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