Audi Sport is planning to offer a single drivetrain option for each RS model it offers in the future, as opposed to giving buyers the option to choose between a pure combustion engine or electrified powertrain.
According to Autocar, Audi Sport boss Rolf Michl said Audi AG is positioning itself as consistently electric, so future RS models will get one drivetrain only. To put it simply, this approach differs from Volkswagen, which offers the Golf in GTI and GTE performance variants. Audi Sport cars will get just one engine, either hybrid or full electric.
Currently, electrified RS models in the line-up include the RS6 and RS Q8, both featuring the automaker’s 48-volt mild-hybrid system. Moving forward, the company will double down on electrification, and the next-generation RS4 is tipped to be a plug-in hybrid, while the electric e-tron GT (also part of the Audi Sport portfolio) will debut by 2023.
Michl said: “We are well-known for precise portfolio planning and we want to keep it easy for the customer. We will have one car with one engine. It doesn’t make sense to have different variants. Maybe there will be different variants for different concepts, whether they are electrified, internal combustion-engined or otherwise, but every model will have a single drivetrain.”
“Our main focus is performance and everyday useability. There are brilliant aspects [of electrification] for performance cars such as torque vectoring and amazing cornering speeds. Electrified performance can absolutely be emotional,” he added.
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