Introducing the brand-new Audi RS 5 Avant with plug-in technology

Audi Sport’s first-ever high-performance plug-in hybrid delivers everything you would expect from the renowned RS badge. Imposing looks, immense power, and clever technology combine to create a truly monstrous example of estate car practicality. Say hello to the Audi RS 5 Avant.

And yes, the new Audi RS 5 will also come in the usual saloon form when it launches in the summer. But back to the new estate, the Audi RS 5 Avant.

For a start, with its long wheelbase, large wheels, and low body, the Audi RS 5 Avant looks ready to pounce on the competition and reduce it to tears at the side of the road.

The new RS 5 features a typically muscular RS build, measuring around 90mm wider than the base-model A5 due to its flared arches and imposing body kit. The blades in the front bumper, inserts in the side skirts, and the diffuser at the rear come in gloss black as standard, and the bodywork is punctuated with vents to ensure the beast within can breathe.

Night or day, the darkened Matrix LED headlights and digital day- time-running-light signature in a checkered-flag design reinforce the car’s aggressively sporty appearance. The second-generation OLED rear lights have also been upgraded, and they also feature a checkered flag light signature to complement the front.

At the rear, the aerodynamic diffuser boasts vertical fins for maximum aerodynamics, and the valve-controlled RS sport exhaust’s matte oval tailpipes complete the performance styling with the whole package sitting on 20-inch alloy wheels. Upgrade options include larger 21-inch wheels and a ceramic brake package, and you also have a choice of nine colours with a few RS-exclusive paint finishes.

Settle in the RS 5

The interior of the all-new RS 5 also delivers the uncompromising sportiness that only an Audi Sport RS model can guarantee.

Sitting in Audi’s sport seats plus – electric, heated, and massaging seats – you’re surrounded by the new RS 5’s driver-oriented cockpit. At its centre is the Audi MMI Panorama display consisting of the 11.9-inch Audi virtual cockpit and the 14.5-inch MMI Touch Display. The configurable head-up display then brings all that information even closer to the driver. A 10.9-inch passenger display is also fitted as standard, allowing passengers to navigate or simply entertain themselves while you concentrate on driving.

There are five distinct interior design choices, each differentiated by unique materials and colour schemes. Interior details such as shift paddles, Audi emblem and steering wheel clasp, door handles, door sill inlays, air vents, and the RS-exclusive illuminated seat frame trim with RS logo, are all finished in dark metallic vanadium.

Plug-in power for the RS 5

Of course, the main selling point of the Audi RS 5 Avant lurks beneath that imposing façade, and it’s Audi Sport’s first high-performance plug-in hybrid (PHEV).

At its heart is an improved 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 paired with an electric motor, a hybridised eight-speed gearbox, and a completely new rear transaxle with electro-mechanical torque vectoring – a world first in a production model. They are joined by bespoke RS sport suspension with twin-valve shock absorbers, a completely new quattro drivetrain with Dynamic Torque Control, and a new centre differential.

The Audi RS 5 Avant generates 630bhp and 825Nm of torque, while the suspension and quattro system make sure all that grunt reaches the road via all four of the massively wide wheels. The result is a 3.6 second sprint to 62mph, a limited top speed of up to 177mph, and you also get to pootle around town emissions-free using the hybrid’s fully electric EV driving mode as well.

The electric motor is powered by a 25.9kWh battery with 11kW on-board charging so it can easily be topped up overnight or while you’re out, taking just 2.5 hours to complete a 100% recharge. The new RS 5 Avant can obviously be driven on petrol alone if the battery level drops, it just means you won’t have the full RS experience on tap until it’s back above 90%.

At the moment, specific details of UK pricing and specification for the new Audi RS 5 Avant are still to be confirmed. Having said that, it’s hardly controversial to suggest it is going to be hugely powerful, desirably intimidating, and carry a list price that sits perilously close to six figures.

Having said that… we know you still want one, because we do too.

According to Audi, order books will open to European buyers in the first quarter of 2026, first deliveries are expected to commence in the summer, and UK sales will begin mid-2026. That’s a slightly confusing message in terms of timeframe, but either way, the new Audi RS 5 Avant will be arriving in the UK very soon.

If you’re interested in leasing one and want to get ahead of the game, keep your eyes peeled for an incoming cloud of tyre smoke on the horizon.