Audi’s RS7 four-door super-coupe and the RS6 Avant super-wagon are two exemplary examples what’s possible when you stuff entirely too much horsepower into an otherwise understated executive express. With a 560-hp twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8, the all-wheel-drive RS7 and RS6 Avant are disturbingly quick, with the RS7 having hit 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds in our testing. This must be too slow for Audi, however, because European customers can now order “Performance” versions of both with . . . 605 horsepower.
While we’re happy to hear Dodge’s Hellcat gospel reaching Germany’s carmakers, it is with slight dismay that we report it isn’t presently clear whether the RS7 sold here might gain a Perfomance trim. (The RS6 Avant, being a station wagon, isn’t sold here in any form.) In any event, the Performance spec is much like that of Mercedes-AMG’s “S-model” cars: It’s a full Audi RS high-performance vehicle, only with more power, for bragging rights. As such, the RS7 and RS6 Avant benefit from ECU tuning and cranked-up turbocharger boost for an extra 45 horsepower, for a total of 605 ponies. An overboost function bumps torque to 553 lb-ft from 516 lb-ft for short bursts.
Other Performance-specific features include special 21-inch wheels, a drive-mode selector on the steering wheel, “sportily designed bumpers,” and matte-titanium-look trim. The Audis’ eight-speed automatic is also “designed for extreme sportiness.” Audi’s peculiar twists on the adjective “sporty” aside, the cars are definitely desirable. We won’t bore you with futile pining for the RS6 Avant’s wagonly amazingness, but we will argue that Audi at least could bring the RS7 Performance model’s upgrades stateside. We’d even be okay with the company calling it the RS7 Sportimaxx. Or maybe the RS7 Sportzilla.
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