Audi RS6 e-tron dead
Audi has killed plans for its all-electric RS6 e-tron hyperwagon, according to reports.
The Ingolstadt-based carmaker says the reason for culling its twin-motor, Tesla Plaid and Lucid Air Sapphire rival is because its engineering team is unable to build anything faster than its 923bhp RS e-tron GT Performance.
However, the largely-cited real reason behind the cancellation of the RS6 e-tron is due to poor sales and a lack of demand for expensive, high-end, large performance EVs, especially when the upcoming 641bhp Hyundai Ioniq 6 N is touted to be priced from between £65,000 – £70,000.
For reference, the RS e-tron GT Performance comes with a £143,875,000 starting price.
Audi’s poor 2024 sales are also said to have played a part in the demise of the RS6 e-tron, after the brand recorded a 14% year-on-year drop in deliveries with 196,576 cars sold globally in comparison to 228,550 the previous year.
The RS6 e-tron’s death means the fastest A6 e-tron in the family is still the S6 e-tron, whose dual-motor, all-wheel drive quattro set-up returns 543bhp and a 0-62mph time of 3.9 seconds.
It’s still not cheap, though – the S6 e-tron Sportback hatch is priced from £98,315 OTR, while the larger S6 e-tron Avant wagon starts at £100,115.
The S6 e-tron is built on Audi’s new Premium Platform Electric (PPE), which was co-designed with Porsche, and also underpins the Porsche Macan EV and Audi Q6 e-tron SUVs. The PPE can be configured in either single-motor, rear-wheel drive format, or dual-motor, AWD.
The PPE’s 800V architecture allows it to support fast-charging speeds of up to 270kWh translating into a 10-80% fast-charging time of around 20 minutes.
Were it to have made it to production, the RS6 e-tron would have been built on the PPE with Audi’s AWD quattro system and a dual-motor setup generating around 800bhp.
Audi’s decision to axe the RS6 e-tron comes at a time when the brand is seeking to return to its core values of timeless aesthetics, and high-end, interiors. This u-turn follows the launch of the PPE-based Audi Concept C, which previews Ingolstadt’s new design language and an all-electric mid-sized roadster scheduled to arrive in 2027.
