Audi RS Q5 on track

The first Audi RS Q5 appears on track to take the battle to high-performance mid-size luxury SUVs like the BMW X3 M and Mercedes-AMG GLC 63.

And it’s almost certain to be available in ‘coupe’ form, in the shape of an RS Q5 Sportback to join the RS Q3 and Q8, to compete with the BMW X4 M, Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 Coupe and Porsche Macan.

An RS version of the Audi Q5 has been the subject of speculation since the original Q5 emerged in 2008, and the second-generation model launched in 2016 has long been expected to gain the 331kW/600Nm twin-turbo petrol V6 from the RS 4 and RS 5.

Co-developed with Porsche, the red-hot 2.9-litre biturbo V6 would give the oft-discussed Audi RS Q5 a sub-4.0sec 0-100km/h sprint time, matching the likes of the turbo V8 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 in the performance stakes.

Speaking at this week’s virtual reveal of the facelifted Audi Q5 (pictured), which arrives in Australia early next year, a spokesman for Audi’s mid-size SUV product range in Germany, Michael Crusius, wouldn’t rule out the RS Q5 and his tone suggested it was more likely than not.

“It remains exciting to see, but this is a topic that we cannot delve into,” he said.

Crusius added that the existence of the Audi RS Q5 was “one of the few questions we will not be able to answer today”.

Perhaps next year, then?

Audi chairman Bram Schot has already confirmed the first Sportback version of the Q5 is on its way, and the sportier-looking SUV ‘coupe’ could be the body shape Audi chooses to form the basis of its first RS Q5.

Unlike BMW M and Mercedes-AMG, which offer several high-performance SUVs, Audi Sport’s fast SUV range is so far limited to two models, the RS Q3 and RS Q8. But the RS Q5 could join the RS Q3 in being available in both standard SUV and Sportback body styles.

Either way, Crusius confirmed the Audi Q5 Sportback will be revealed in around nine months, and therefore it should follow the facelifted Q5 on sale Down Under by the end of next year.

“The [Q5] Sportback is of course something that needs to be considered very much in view of the markets we deliver to and we’ve got different delivery times,” he said.

“But you will have to assume the Sportback will arrive roughly three-quarters of a year after the product upgrade.”

It remains to be seen if Audi RS Q5 Sportback will become the brand’s fiercest SUV yet. To do so it would have to be quicker than the twin-turbo V8-powered RS Q8, which is claimed to hit 100km/h in a rapid-fire 3.8 seconds.

That makes it one of the world’s quickest SUVs, matching all of its key German rivals and falling short of only the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk (3.7sec) and Lamborghini Urus (3.6).