The RS initiative is underway

The event will be also be joined live by Rolf Michl, Head of Marketing and Sales, at Audi Sport GmbH and by Chris Reinke, Managing Director of Audi Sport Customer Racing GmbH, who will give his insights into what “Born on the track, built for the road” truly means. The RS model offensive is in full swing: The sporty subsidiary of AUDI AG already has six RS models in its portfolio scheduled for the Middle East: the RS 4 Avant, the RS 5 Sportback, the RS 6 Avant, the RS 7 Sportback as well as the RS Q8. Later this year the RS Q3 Sportback will also join the league of performance.

Future RS models will enhance the range relatively soon after the launch of the respective base product lines. That means that their characteristics will be defined at a very early stage and that their development will run alongside work on the corresponding product line upon which they are based. In addition to design, this work will focus on powertrain and suspension. After all, the aim is to bring the sporty DNA that every Audi carries to the fore as much as possible.

Modern efficiency is one of the fundamental goals here. With the RS 6 Avant, RS 7 Sportback, and RS Q8, the list of ingredients already includes a sophisticated mild hybrid system based on the 48-volt on-board electrical system as well as cylinder deactivation (COD) in the V8 TFSI engine under partial load. Needless to say, these functions must also be implemented in an RS-typical way. “Fine-tuning” is the magic word when it comes to the long road that is the development of a spectacular RS model. “A unique character will only evolve if we work consistently and with great precision. A lot of experience and a clear vision are the keys to creating a coherent overall concept,” says Reinke with certainty.

Inspired by the racing car: the design of RS models

The RS models are the dynamic spearheads in Audi’s model portfolio, as is already indicated by their particularly striking exterior design. It is very much inspired by motorsports, combining cool understatement with a dynamic edge. Top performance in motorsports requires more extreme component shapes. According to the principle of “form follows function,” it is therefore natural that the use of high-performance technologies from motorsports is also reflected in the visual appearance of RS models.

In many RS models, the proportion and position of the Singleframe are based on the R8 sports car: It is both wider and lower than on its sister models and dominated by a puristic, sporty black instead of chrome elements. Some RS models have horizontal slits between the grille and the hood that are reminiscent of the iconic Audi Sport quattro from 1984. Mighty air inlets and large elliptical tailpipes symbolize the power of the turbocharged engines.

The body also features an exclusive look, which is particularly striking in the Audi RS 6 Avant. It is 80 millimeters wider than the base model, and the design of the fenders is just as RS-typical as that of the rear doors, the side panel frames, the front section, and the engine hood. Only the front doors, the roof, and the tailgate are unchanged. The wheel arches of the high-performance Avant accommodate wheels with a diameter of up to 22 inches – or even 23 inches in the case of the RS Q8.

Workshops and master jig: Top-of-the-line quality even during development

The Audi maxim of uncompromising quality applies to each of the many exclusive solutions. “Our customers demand the best products on the market,” says the Managing Director of Audi Sport, Oliver Hoffmann. “We have the best specialists and teams to meet their high expectations.” The RS workshops, where the first cars are assembled by hand, play an important part during the development phase.

The Audi Quality Assurance department has a great influence on the later series production vehicle even during this phase. The employees assemble the complete RS body on highly precise aluminum measuring fixtures known as the master jig. They use state-of-the-art measuring methods such as laser scanners, which record several million measuring points on the surface of the part, to adjust all surfaces, joints, and radii down to the tenth of a millimeter. This benefits both the aerodynamics and the appeal of each individual RS.

Three locations: production of the RS models

The RS models built for the Middle East are produced in three locations. The RS 3 Sedan, the RS 4 Avant, the RS 5 Coupé, and the RS 5 Sportback roll off the line in the German plant in Ingolstadt. The RS 6 Avant and the RS 7 Sportback are produced at the Neckarsulm site and the RS Q8 is produced at the Slovakian plant in Bratislava. All RS models are processed on shared systems with their sister models. The Audi press shops supply the specific sheet metal parts made of steel or, in many cases, aluminum that are then assembled in the body shop.

The marriage, that is the assembly station where the suspension and drivetrain are joined with the body, is very challenging in the case of the models with a V8 engine in particular.

RS-specific parts such as the exhaust system, bumpers, rear aprons, and wheels complete the RS models. A two-digit number of RS 6 Avants and RS 7 Sportbacks are built in Neckarsulm every working day. Each one of them is checked on a road course before being handed over to the customer.

The “Böllinger Höfe” factory is located close to the Neckarsulm plant, the headquarters of Audi Sport GmbH. This is where the sports and racing cars of the R8 family are built, in large part by hand, and the fully electric Audi e-tron GT will soon be built here, too.

Starting from 9^th of July interested customers from the Middle East can buy, order and reserve their RS 6 Avant, RS 7, R8 and RS Q8 models.

Livestream Channels on 9^th of July starting at 11am Gulf Standard Time (GMT+4):

Register: www.audi-me.com/RS

Facebook Audi Middle East:

Youtube Audi Middle East

LinkedIn Audi Middle East

“Since there are no real races happening at the moment, because of the corona crisis, SimRacing is experiencing an incredible boom,” says the 2013 DTM champion. “We are deliberately going our own way: #RaceHome is focusing on sports cars with electric drive and is therefore in line with Audi’s focus topic in the change of mobility. We have decided on a console game because we can reach a particularly large community in this way.”

PlayStation Network members have the opportunity to compete against the Audi DTM stars on #RaceHome. They can win a spot on the grid each week by developing and publishing a design for the Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo in conjunction with #AudiTogether and #WeStayHome. The most creative design will win. The jury consists of the six Audi DTM drivers.

#RaceHome wants to generate as many donations as possible to be used for charity projects within the motorsport family. “There are many freelancers in motorsport who have lost their income from one day to the next and are fearing for their own existence,” says Rockenfeller. That’s why it will be possible to bid for a spot on the grid every week.

All of the races of the #RaceHome charity racing series can be seen on the free live streaming channel at www.twitch.tv/visionrcco. The first race is on Tuesday, 21 April at 8 p.m. (CEST).

Due to the corona pandemic, there will be no factory tours at the Audi site in Ingolstadt until further notice. For the many guests who have traveled from all over the world to see Audi production live, the brand is offering an online alternative with AudiStream. Those who are interested can participate in a virtual tour through the Audi plant in Ingolstadt from home on the display of their computer or mobile device. Experienced guides narrate the online tour live from a studio and explain the production processes. With the use of video sequences, participants learn how an Audi is made, from the first production steps in the press shop to the final manual operations during final assembly. Among other things, the processes in the body shop of the Audi A3 and videos from the Audi A4 assembly line can be seen. In addition, the tour guides present technical highlights from the Audi world and answer questions in dialogue with participants.

With their knowledge acquired from numerous tours at the Audi plant in Ingolstadt, the tour guides determine the route for the roughly 20-minute livestream according to the individual interests of the international participants. Users select the desired stream and a suitable time slot in German or English online at http://www.audi.stream/. The offer is free of charge; fees may be charged for Internet access, however, depending on the selected provider.

With AudiStream, Audi is the first manufacturer to offer online discovery tours. The stream “Audi live at the Ingolstadt factory” has been available since November 2019. Participants can now book additional live sessions. Online tours on other topics from the Audi brand world will follow.

Further information on AudiStream can be found in the video.

AudiStream in April 2020 (CET Time):

• Wednesday, April 8, 2020, 11:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday, April 9, 2020, 1:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 15, 2020, 11:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday, April 16, 2020, 1:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 22, 2020, 3:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 29, 2020, 1:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.