Rumors thus far counsel the all-new 2026 Audi RS6 will get a V8 PHEV powertrain, however this prototype is a bit subdued by way of sound.
We’ve recognized for a while now that the 2026 Audi RS6 will debut as a thoroughly revamped product bearing a bunch of updates in just about each space – together with its powertrain. At the least, this shall be true in sure components of the world, because the 2026 Audi A6 All Highway and RS6 Avant bought within the U.S. are still exactly the same because the outgoing C8 technology, 2025 fashions – whilst the next-generation C9 A6 has already arrived in Europe. Within the meantime, we’re seeing increasingly more of the C9 technology 2026 Audi RS6 daily, together with through this very attention-grabbing new spy footage.
Within the quick clip from the YouTube channel NCars, we get a have a look at a 2026 Audi RS6 prototype because it’s driving down the highway in Spain, performing some testing. The video means that this explicit prototype is both using a V6 plug-in hybrid or V8 PHEV powertrain, however goes on to principally proclaim that we’re listening to the previous in motion, which might be massive information for quite a lot of causes.
In truth, it’s a bit onerous to discern what we’re listening to right here, because the sounds coming from the wagon’s tailpipes are a bit, properly, muted. It does have a little bit of a deeper growl to it, however there isn’t a extensive open throttle roar current right here that may in any other case affirm what lies underneath the hood.
What we do know is {that a} report from this previous summer time claims that the 2026 Audi RS6 won’t be ditching V8 power, however moderately, it’ll merely add electrification to a well-recognized model of that sort of engine.
That report claims the next-generation RS6 will use an up to date model of the prevailing twin turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 mated to a transmission-mounted electrical motor and lithium-ion battery, as is the case with some VW household fashions already, such because the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid. That mannequin makes use of the identical kind of setup to provide 730 horsepower and 700 pound-feet of torque, which is a giant bump over the prevailing RS6’s 621 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque.
Nonetheless, it’s additionally potential that the forthcoming Audi RS6 will lean on the stronger Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid’s powertrain as an alternative, which churns out 771 horsepower. In both case, another prototype sightings have seemingly confirmed the addition of a V8 PHEV choice to the 2026 Audi RS6 lineup, as they’ve been noticed with excessive voltage stickers and the identical exhaust setup because the Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid.
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