Fast Four Ringers: What to Know About Audi's Modern Sports Cars

The Audi sports car journey begins in the early 1980s with the establishment of Quattro GmbH, the in-house hot rod division responsible for producing the majority of the brand’s most exciting automobiles. Operating under the Audi Sport GmbH banner today, the team has relied on its engineering acumen, its relationships with other automakers under the Volkswagen umbrella (including Porsche and Lamborghini), and its dedication to all-wheel drive to deliver a long list of high-performance heavy hitters. Here’s a look at what the past three decades of Audi sports cars has had to offer.

1982-1985 Audi Quattro

When the original Quattro coupe arrived on the scene for the 1982 model year, all-wheel drive was still a novelty reserved largely for the pseudo-crossovers built by AMC’s Eagle brand. The Quattro quickly convinced sports car fans they might want to consider four-wheel motivation outside of an off-road context, providing a 2.2-liter, turbocharged five-cylinder engine that offered 160 horsepower and 170 lb-ft of torque in North American spec (and just under 200 horses in Europe).

That was enough for a sub-eight-second sprint to 60 mph, which was more than credible in a period where American V-8s were having trouble matching Audi’s five-cylinder in terms of output. Throw in box flares and a fully independent suspension, and the Quattro was a stunning sports car debut for the brand.

1994-1996 Audi RS 2 Avant

It took almost a decade for Audi to follow up the Quattro with another jaw-dropping sports car, but the Audi RS 2 Avant was worth the wait. The compact wagon was produced not by Quattro GmbH, as the Quattro coupe had been, but rather Audi and Porsche in partnership.

The long-roof borrowed its wheels brakes and from the Porsche 968 Clubsport, and although its 2.2-liter, turbocharged five-cylinder engine was produced by Audi, it and the six-speed manual gearbox that went with it were assembled by Porsche at one of its own factories. While there, Porsche engineers also tuned the motor, giving it a larger turbo and fuel injectors, an intercooler, a more aggressive cam, and a sport exhaust system. Overall, it was good for 315 horsepower and 302 lb-ft of torque, making it faster than the current-generation (non-turbo) Porsche 911 thanks to a 0–60-mph time of just 4.8 seconds.

1998-2006 Audi TT

There are some who would point at the Audi TT’s somewhat pedestrian performance numbers and disparage its place in the automaker’s sports car pantheon. It’s true the TT’s exotic looks concealed a more pedestrian platform—the mightiest drivetrain in the original model was a 250-hp, 3.2-liter VR6, and much of the car’s chassis was lifted straight from the Volkswagen Golf parts bin—but that ignores the TT’s impact on Audi’s fortunes in the 1990s.

So what if its high-speed handling was known to be treacherous (launching multiple recalls and lawsuits)? That egg-shaped silhouette was unlike anything else on the road, and the TT raised Audi’s profile through the roof right at a time it was pouring resources into an American market breakthrough. The Audi TT’s gorgeous design conceals flaws, to be sure, but in a sports car, it’s tempting to just label those “personality.”

2000-2002 Audi RS 4 Avant

On a roll with wagons, the successor to the RS 2 was another family-oriented sports car that tagged in a third party to help make it something special. Specifically, the “biturbo” 2.7-liter V-6 stuffed under the hood of the 2000–2002 Audi RS 4 Avant had been breathed on by the motorsports geniuses at Cosworth, giving it a pair of intercoolers, a deep-breathing pair of aluminum heads, a sport exhaust, and of course a custom tune.

Altogether, it was good for a wild 375 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. That’s enough output to shame a dedicated sport coupe of its era, let alone anything else with four doors and a hatch. The RS 4 rocketed to 60 mph in a scant 4.9 seconds thanks to standard all-wheel drive and a six-speed manual transmission. Like the RS 2, it was never imported to the United States.

2006-2008 Audi RS 4

When it was time to redo the RS 4, Audi chose to greatly expand its range by adding a sedan and a convertible to the body style mix. Not only that, but the four-door made it across the ocean and into American showrooms in its final two model years.

That’s not all that was different about the redesigned RS 4. In place of its turbocharged V-6, the car now featured a 4.2-liter V-8 that squeezed out 420 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque. Unlike other large-displacement engines of the day, however, it revved all the way to 8,000 rpm, in keeping with BMW’s own contemporary eight-cylinder M3 experiment. This made for a unique driving experience compared to any previous RS model, giving the RS 4 a distinct personality that helped it find more than a few customers stateside.

2007-2024 Audi R8

It’s impossible to look at any model year R8 and not be smitten by Audi’s very first (and to date, only) supercar. When it first arrived, the 2007 Audi R8 stunned enthusiasts with its mid-engine, all-grip Quattro drivetrain that featured a 4.2-liter V-8 similar to the one offered by the RS 4 (albeit with a track-friendly, dry-sump oiling setup). A few years later, the R8 borrowed the 5.2-liter V-10 found in the Lamborghini Gallardo (which had itself been yanked from the Audi S6 and S8 super sedans), giving it 518 hp and 391 lb-ft of torque, boosting its top speed to nearly 200 mph.

After a number of power boosts for both the V-8 and V-10 editions of the R8 (plus the addition of a convertible Spyder body style), a redesigned model arrived for 2016. Riding on the same platform as the also-new Lamborghini Huracán, the V-10 was standard and boosted to 602 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque in its most potent configuration. More controversially, the R8 lost its manual gearbox, with a seven-speed dual-clutch effort taking its place, but the car gained a rear-wheel-drive edition (the RWS) that deleted Quattro from the mix. By the end of its run, the now-defunct Audi R8 could serve up 633 hp to anyone lucky enough to find themselves in the driver’s seat.

2010-2017 Audi RS 5

Audi had largely stayed out of the high-dollar, two-door performance coupe game throughout the 2000s, participating only at the entry level (TT) and top tier (R8) while ceding much of the rest to BMW and Mercedes-Benz. That all changed with the Audi RS 5, which arrived in 2010.

Sized and muscled to compete with the best of what its German rivals were offering, the RS 5 arrived in Europe first before the car made its impact in North America (as a coupe and a convertible) for the 2013 model year. It burst onto the scene like a buzz saw with its 450-hp 4.2-liter V-8 and dual-clutch automated transmission, this time with a redline boosted to 8,500 rpm. The flip side? Torque was kept to a modest 317 lb-ft, but the Audi was selling the RS 5’s overall experience, not so much its spec sheet (although a 4.0 second launch to 60 mph was hardly anything to scoff at).

2012-2013 Audi TT RS

Although it went on sale three years earlier in Europe, by the time the Audi TT RS was available America it had gained a respectable horsepower boost (posting 360 ponies and 343 lb-ft of torque from a 2.5-liter, turbocharged five-cylinder engine) and lost its dual-clutch transmission option (with a six-speed manual the only available gearbox).

The lack of computer-controlled gear shifting might have slowed the car’s 0–60 time to 4.1 seconds, but it added considerable fun factor to a car whose platform had finally shaken much of the original TT’s notoriety. Pity about the shape, though, which had been streamlined to the point of losing much of the older coupe’s visual pathos.

2014-2017 Audi RS 7

Audi’s striking midsize hatch was given the full RS treatment in the U.S. in 2014, bringing with it 560 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. This bonkers output bested anything that had previously been available from the RS family, making the RS 7 the standard-bearer for the future of big power from the four-rings brand.

The twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 could push the RS 7 all the way to 190 mph before the limiter kicked in, with 0–60 mph arriving in a scant 3.7 seconds. This version of the car continued until the 2017 model year.

2017-2020 Audi RS 3

Audi reached back to its five-cylinder roots with the RS 3, a car that shared more than a little with the Volkswagen Golf R under the skin. Of course, its non-luxury platform-mate couldn’t claim a 400-hp 2.5-liter turbocharged engine, nor did it deliver the kind of stealth sedan image embodied by the Audi.

All that grunt (including 354 lb-ft of torque) made the RS 3 more than a full second faster than the next-step-down S3 when accelerating to 60 mph (in just 3.6 seconds). Credit goes to the car’s launch control, dual-clutch transmission, and Quattro all-wheel drive, with carbon-ceramic brakes along for the ride when it’s time to haul down from triple-digit speeds.

2019-2024 Audi RS 6 Avant

Taking up the torch of its wagon forbearers, the 2019 Audi RS 6 Avant caused a commotion upon its American arrival. Based on the same platform as the RS 7 (which gained many of the same performance upgrades), the RS 6 Avant opened with a 591-hp volley from a 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V-8 engine. This was paired with a stunning 590 lb-ft of torque, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive (with up to 85 percent of that output capable of shunting to the rear axles if required).

All of the above was wrapped in bulging, body-builder sheetmetal that gave the wagon a seriously aggressive countenance that in no way interrupted its practicality as a daily driver. The RS 6 Avant in many ways represents the apex of Audi’s RS brand combining commute-friendly luxury with dragstrip dominance and back road thrills.

2022-2024 Audi RS E-Tron GT

It’s unusual to include such a large and heavy vehicle under the sports car banner, but then again, the Audi RS E-Tron GT is an outlier in nearly every aspect. The first all-electric vehicle to wear the RS badge, the E-Tron GT shares much of its design DNA with the Porsche Taycan, delivering an exceptional 637 hp and 612 lb-ft of torque.

That translates into a 0–60 time of 2.9 seconds, along with the kind of instant-on pedal response that’s only possible when electrons are spinning the wheels. The RS E-Tron GT is also a respectable hustler when the roads turn twisty, with its computerized torque management making up for the extra pounds ladled onto its platform by its oversized battery.

 Audi Sports Cars Timeline

• 1982-1985 Audi Quattro
• 1994-1996 Audi RS 2 Avant
• 1998-2006 Audi TT
• 2000-2002 Audi RS 4 Avant
• 2006-2008 Audi RS 4
• 2007-2024 Audi R8
• 2010-2017 Audi RS 5 Coupe
• 2012-2013 Audi TT RS
• 2014-2017 Audi RS 7·
• 2017-2020 Audi RS 3
• 2019-2024 Audi RS 6 Avant
• 2022-2024 Audi RS E-Tron GT