New electric RS6 Avant e-tron rendered – the most powerful Audi ever?

• Future Audi RS6 e-tron rendered
• Based on forthcoming A6 Avant e-tron
• Set to share parts with future Porsche EVs
• Almost 800hp possible
• More than 1,000Nm of torque
• Could be the quickest Audi ever

Audi has confirmed it will only launch new electric cars from 2026, and Dr. Sebastian Grams (head-honcho at Audi Sport) has confirmed his future S and RS cars will follow the same strategy as the main Audi business for future projects.

Is this the end of fast Audi estate cars like the RS6? Well, no…

After all, Audi has just revealed new ‘Performance’ versions of the RS7 and RS6 (shown below), which get an extra 30hp and 50Nm of torque compared with the ‘normal’ cars.

But these new special editions are really just a blaze of glory for the RS6 and RS7. Soon there’ll be no twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8s left for Audi’s flagship performance estate…

So what will this iconic car’s replacement be like? Well, Audi has already (partially) revealed the car that a future RS6 will be based on in the form of the A6 Avant e-tron concept, shown below.

This is only a concept car (for now) but it previews Audi’s first all-electric estate that should arrive in the next few years. But what about a faster RS6 version? Well, this exclusive rendering imagines exactly that…

If Audi chooses to blast the next-generation RS6 into an all-electric future, it’ll likely use the same underpinnings as the forthcoming A6 Avant e-tron. This will be built using a new set of electric-car components Audi has jointly developed with Porsche.

This engineer’s toybox is called the PPE (for Premium Platform Electric) and will underpin numerous cars from both brands, including the new A6 e-tron and the electric Porsche Macan replacement (shown below in prototype form undergoing testing).

The whole point of the new PPE platform is to make technology from the Audi RS e-tron GT and Porsche Taycan (which share most of their oily bits) more accessible in a greater range of future Audi and Porsche electric cars.

An official presentation from Audi (shown below) suggests forthcoming PPE-based cars will get a bigger range of batteries than today’s e-tron GT (which is built using what Audi calls the ‘J1’ platform). They’ll also have the ability to charge faster and have longer ranges.

Audi has also confirmed these new PPE cars, like the next-generation A6, will be capable of making just as much power as a Taycan Turbo S does today.

That car has 2 electric motors that make a combined 761hp and 1,050Nm of torque, which is 140hp more than you get in the most powerful Audi R8. This much power would make a future Audi RS6 e-tron the most powerful Audi road car ever made.

But that’s not the best bit… This new PPE platform can cope with more torque than cars that use the older ‘J1’ platform, including the Porsche Taycan Turbo S.

If Audi maxes out the capabilities of this new PPE platform, a future RS6 could be quicker than any Audi ever made.

With close to 800hp and more than 1,000Nm of torque, it should have no trouble out-accelerating an R8 or an RS e-tron GT – both of which hit 60mph from rest in close to three seconds flat.

But Audi isn’t the only brand in the hunt to build the world’s quickest estate car… BMW M boss, Frank Van Meel, recently hinted that BMW might be working on a new M5 Touring, as imagined in carwow’s exclusive render, below.

The next-generation M5 is set to use components lifted from the 748hp XM ‘Label Red’ and could eclipse the astonishing sub-three-second 0-60mph time set by today’s M5 CS.

Get Mat’s verdict on the M5 Cs by watching this review video…

Whichever hyper-quick family hauler you’re most excited by, you’ll have a bit of a wait on your hands… Neither an electric RS6 nor an M5 touring is expected to appear for a few years at least, and you can bet that both will set you back north of £100,000 when they do arrive.

However, 2023 is still an exciting year for premium saloons and estate cars – BMW is set to reveal a new 5 series and Audi is readying the A6 e-tron for launch.

If you can’t wait for these cars to go on sale, compare the latest electric-car deals and hybrid-car offers available through carwow. Alternatively, tap the button below to get help changing your car and see how easy it is to sell your car through carwow.