This year Audi is celebrating 25 years of successful high-performance RS models! The nameplate RS embodies the never-ending quest to create the very best high-performance vehicles that are nothing less than perfect. Anyone who has driven an RS knows the pure joy and excitement that comes from driving one of these high-performance cars. After all, says Audi Gainesville (Gainesville, FL), Audi’s goal with the RS, after all, is to create cars that push all boundaries without losing a bit of the everyday usability of a daily driver.
The very first Audi RS model debuted back in 1994 which laid the foundation for 24 different RS models to come to fruition over the last 25 years. Many of these RS models have been spearheads in their product lines and feature remarkable examples of innovation.
The 1994 Audi RS 2 Avant paved the way for an entire segment of high-performance station wagons. The RS 2 Avant came with a four-valve, five-cylinder engine and quattro drive. The quatrro drive system which features a self-locking center differntial had already earned its presitge in the world of rallying and motorsports.
In 1999 the world was introduced to the Audi RS 4 Avant which was based upon the S4 model of that time. The RS 4 was powered by the same 2.7-liter V6 engine as the S4 model which had five valves per cylinder and biturbo charging. The second generation of the RS 4 saw numerious innovative improvements and was introduced to the market in 2005. One of these innovations was the introduction of a V8 engine with gasoline direct injection combined with a high-rev concept. This engine was later used in the first generation of the Audi R8 which hit the market for the first time back in 2007.
Audi shook up the market again in 2008 by introducing the RS 6 Avant which took the form of a business station wagon with incredible sports car capability. At the heart of the RS 6 Avant was a newly developed FSI direct injection biturbo charging V10 engine with dry sump lubrication. The design of the RS 6 Avant was straight out of the world of motorsports and features quattro permanent all-wheel-drive.
When the year 2011 finally rolled around it was time for Audi to shake up the compact class. They did so with the introduction of the RS 3 Sportback. Audi then continued their trend of turning markets upside in 2013 with the introduction of the RS Q3.
Right now you can view the RS production model lineup in its entirety along with 14 genuine RS rarities at the Audi Forum in Neckarsulm. The exhibition opened on July 12th, 2019 to help celebrate the silver anniversary of the RS. One of the rarities of the RS model lineup which was brought in to help celebrate is the racing car version of the Audi TT RS from 2011. Another is the RS 5 DTM race touring car which dominated in the 2013 season and a prototype of the Audi RS 8 which didn’t end up going into production.
