The next Audi RS6 and RS7 (2013/14)

[lswing]

Super amazing...and yet what a gaping bumper rear diffuser look, really kills the look...damn I want to photoshop that thing to make it look proper

[ZCD2.7T]

CarMagazine's already test drove the RS6 - go here for the article!

Top Gear has taken a run as well.. http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/First-drive-the-new-Audi-RS6-Avant-2013-04-09

Nice to read some very positive comments from both of those reviewers - thanks for posting!

[Lmg]

AutoExpress already drove it as well...

[LUPIN]

It's always the same car?

I don't care about that DRC. I don't want it!!!

They should test it without DRC, to see how comfortable it is...

[LUPIN]

[LUPIN]

[Dr99]

Man, I would have a really hard time choosing between daytona with the aluminum package, and ibis with the blackout. Love the contrast with both. Sadly it isn't a decision I'll have to worry about.

[LUPIN]

[Patron]

amazing sound and shifts perfectly. i fell in love with this beast, seriously considering getting one.it has everything a guy would want for the car, speed, comfort and of course quattro

[Patron]

Man, I would have a really hard time choosing between daytona with the aluminum package, and ibis with the blackout. Love the contrast with both. Sadly it isn't a decision I'll have to worry about.

I think Daytona is the best RS color, especially with Aluminum Pack looks amazing.

[LUPIN]

[kilian tuning]

[bmwade]

Oh look its my garage in 25 years! lol f-ing NTSA and EPA....why can't we just use the European tree hugging nanny standards?

[G@Fourtitude]

If Audi wants to be a world class car company, then act like one. They shouldn't assume that they know what their customers want. It's simple logic, ask customer groups what they want, or make everything available like Mercedes and BMW do for their customers. It's been said before, none of their customers have to wonder if the next great thing will come. It's only a matter of when. This sadly distinguishes both BMW and Mercedes above Audi when it comes to customer satisfaction and loyalty.

There are two sides to every story, two views of how a glass is either half empty or half full. Through my job at Fourtitude I get to work first hand with most of the players at Audi of America. I’m familiar with them, the market and their situation. Seeing where they are going and knowing what I do of their plans, I see it as half full.

First, what makes you think they are not asking their customers what they want? What makes you think they are not constantly evaluating the market? Perhaps the market does not reflect the exact needs of you, or me. Would love to have an RS 6 Avant, but current models suggest they can’t sell the volume in order to justify the homologation costs.

Audi doesn’t play by the same rules as BMW or Mercedes-Benz in North America. For one, they have a smaller market share that is growing by the day… but still smaller. Audi sold about 125,000 cars in the USA last year and will likely hit 150K this year. They’re shifting more of their business to models like A6/A7/A8 in C/D segment from the A4/A5/Q5 segments. In this segment profits are larger and where a solid customer base here will thus be open to cars like the RS 6. Look at where the A4/S4 (2001 timeframe) segment has grown to today’s B segment lineup of A4/S4/A5/S5/RS5/A5Cabriolet/S5Cabriolet/RS5Cabriolet/Q5/SQ5.

BMW and Mercedes already sell more cars in this segment as a percentage of overall sales.

At the same time, Audi has more S cars and more RS cars in this market than they have ever had here. Period. Sales are in record numbers, but still not threatening BMW or Mercedes-Benz seriously and with greater volume comes greater selection. This has been proven with the current mix.

[AndyBG]

If you have this image in bigger resolution, or more of them, please share!

Thank you!

[1uglymug]

There are two sides to every story, two views of how a glass is either half empty or half full. Through my job at Fourtitude I get to work first hand with most of the players at Audi of America. I’m familiar with them, the market and their situation. Seeing where they are going and knowing what I do of their plans, I see it as half full.

First, what makes you think they are not asking their customers what they want? What makes you think they are not constantly evaluating the market? Perhaps the market does not reflect the exact needs of you, or me. Would love to have an RS 6 Avant, but current models suggest they can’t sell the volume in order to justify the homologation costs.

Audi doesn’t play by the same rules as BMW or Mercedes-Benz in North America. For one, they have a smaller market share that is growing by the day… but still smaller. Audi sold about 125,000 cars in the USA last year and will likely hit 150K this year. They’re shifting more of their business to models like A6/A7/A8 in C/D segment from the A4/A5/Q5 segments. In this segment profits are larger and where a solid customer base here will thus be open to cars like the RS 6. Look at where the A4/S4 (2001 timeframe) segment has grown to today’s B segment lineup of A4/S4/A5/S5/RS5/A5Cabriolet/S5Cabriolet/RS5Cabriolet/Q5/SQ5.

BMW and Mercedes already sell more cars in this segment as a percentage of overall sales.

At the same time, Audi has more S cars and more RS cars in this market than they have ever had here. Period. Sales are in record numbers, but still not threatening BMW or Mercedes-Benz seriously and with greater volume comes greater selection. This has been proven with the current mix.

Perhaps communication from AOA could be better. An explanation to the statistical analysis and why these decision are being made would go a long way. Commonly, when there is no explanation given, it is because there is not an adequate explanation to why a decision is being made. I think that is the general feeling here.

[G@Fourtitude]

Perhaps communication from AOA could be better. An explanation to the statistical analysis and why these decision are being made would go a long way. Commonly, when there is no explanation given, it is because there is not an adequate explanation to why a decision is being made. I think that is the general feeling here.

I don't have access to that and I'd imagine that's proprietary information they don't care to share with their competitors by putting them online. What I can tell you is this.

Consider they have a set budget for bringing in variations and consider also that costs are associated with things like drivetrains (engines, # of transmission choices), bodies in white (sunroof and no sunroof would count as two here), and body configurations (sedan, Avant, Sportback, etc.). At one time this was simple as there were few drivetrain options and few models. Nowadays there are many more derivations and even more inbound (Q3 with unknown # of engines, A3 sedan with 3 engine types, S3 sedan, SQ5, RS 7, A3 hybrid and possibly RS Q3). These replace A3 Sportback 2.0 TFSI and A3 TDI and each takes nearly the same amount of time to implement be they RS 7 or much higher volume A3 sedan.

The problem with RS 6 Avant (not entirely out of the question for America BTW, but not as easy as things I've seen insinuated earlier in this thread) is that the Avant is not yet federalized. It would be less costly to import an RS 6 sedan, but one does not exist and Audi (I think rightfully) Audi decided that the RS 7 would outsell an RS 6 sedan body style just as the RS 5 coupe would do better than a B8 RS 4 sedan and thus chose to drop the redundant sedan model.

The main beef with the RS 7 is that it has no flares. Since A7 already effectively has the track of the RS 6, there was room to widen and flare the fenders of the A6 but not the A7. In order for this to happen to the already wider A7/S7 my understanding is they'd have had to develop many new hard parts for the suspension for just this model. They could have flared the RS 7 fenders without doing this, but then you'd have a car with a big overhang. While RS 7 owners or RS 6 fans in America may feel let down that they don't get the muscular flares, the other side to that coin is that the A7/S7 benefit aesthetically and dynamically from already being wider and that is something current A7/S7 owners may not be as aware of. Flares look cool, but at the end of the day they do nothing for the performance of the RS 6 over the RS 7 and they actually would hurt the aerodynamics.

The hard part is that you will never please everyone and TT RS is a great example. Audi of America had budget for one drivetrain, so they went with the manual transmission because everyone always complains that they want manual and all other American TT variants have DSG (S-tronic). So they do this, but at the same time there's one DSG TT RS in North America for a winter weather press event that ends up in the hands of Car & Driver who take it to the tail of the dragon and make HUGE headlines with the launch controlled 0-60 time they published. From that point on, everyone complained what a 'no brainer' it was that Audi should have brought DSG. Still, had they done that, everyone would have complained that they didn't bring manual.

The magic for Audi is to try to please the most people with the human resources and budgets they have at hand. You can argue they're losing customers hand over fist, but the sales numbers would suggest otherwise. At the same time, transaction prices are jumping ever higher, more C/D models are selling, more high-performance RS models are selling. Brand awareness, perception and resale numbers are all pushing record territory. I empathize with you from one RS 6 Avant fan to another that there's some disappointment that this car has not (yet) made the cut. Even still, the numbers suggest Audi of America is making the right moves.

[1uglymug]

^ Thanks George. Excellent post!