One of the biggest misses of the latest Mercedes-AMG C63 and its four-cylinder engine is the sound. The four-cylinder engine might sound great in one of Benz’s lower-spec AMG cars, but in this top-tier 63, well, it just ain’t it. Fortunately, it sounds like Audi has learned from that very expensive mistake when it comes to its own C63 competitor, the B10 Audi RS5 sedan and RS5 Avant wagon.
A new video (at the bottom of this article) shows a prototype of the car turning laps around the iconic Nürburgring in Germany. And while you won’t mistake the sounds from the exhaust for those coming from an old V8 C63, you certainly won’t confuse them with the fake-sounding noises that come from the AMG four.
V6 RS5 Makes A Glorious Noise
The car was filmed driving on the track and around town by Carspotter Jeroen. You can hear the new RS5 idling along and at full-tilt, and in both cases, the V6 engine sounds delightful. The signature wide oval RS exhaust tips make it sound loud, but not offensively so. Exactly what this car needs.
We’ve seen the latest generation RS5 models a few times now. The CarBuzz spy photo team has spotted the cars undergoing winter testing up north and warm weather testing in Europe. But while they had described the sound of the cars to us, this is the first time we’ve heard the latest version of Audi’s M3-fighter ourselves.
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Audi is suspected to be planning to use the same 444-horsepower twin-turbo V6 engine that it put in the last-generation car. But this time we’re expecting more power, possibly from the engine but certainly from the plug-in hybrid system that will be fitted to it.
No, Audi hasn’t confirmed what will drive the latest RS5, but it’s not hard to tell. The flap on the driver’s side of the car is a charge port, not a second fuel filler nozzle, and that means PHEV.
Audi Is Facing A Near-700 HP C63
The C63 makes 671 horsepower, while the latest BMW M3 makes as much as 523 hp from its 3.0-liter I6. The last Porsche Panamera e-hybrid, which used the same engine and likely a very closely related hybrid system, made 552 hp total.
Audi will likely have to stay a few ponies shy of the Porsche, for prestige purposes, but there is a new Panamera that has just been launched. If its hybrid system makes even more, that frees up some space. Either way, we would speculate at a figure around 520-530 hp.
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On the track, the driver of this RS5 is also clearly having some fun. Plenty of four-wheel drifts to corner exit and some very aggressive cornering. This is one of our first looks at the new RS5 being driven in anger, and it is a good one.
When will we finally get the official reveal? Audi isn’t talking, but with all this testing, it has to be soon. Probably later this year, and if that happens, expect it to be on sale either in late 2025 or early 2026.
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