Audi RS is the equal of BMW M or Mercedes-AMG. Like these manufacturers, Audi arms common manufacturing fashions over to a devoted efficiency division (formally often called Audi Sport GmbH) for upgrades. In a late May press launch, Audi supplied extra particulars on that improvement course of.
Like many different efficiency vehicles, improvement of the Audi RS fashions is centered across the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Every RS mannequin undergoes at the very least 8,000 kilometers (4,970 miles) of testing on the 12.9-mile circuit, Oliver Hoffman, managing director of Audi Sport, stated in an announcement.
“The observe gives us with detailed details about the sturdiness of our components beneath excessive situations and specifics in regards to the suspension,” Hoffman stated.
To get probably the most out of the RS fashions, Audi Sport employs a Nürburgring specialist. Frank Stippler is an area engineer and racing driver who has gained the Nürburgring 24-hour race twice. In 2019, he set a lap file for manufacturing SUVs within the 2020 RS Q8, circling the observe in 7:42.253.
Audi RS 7 Sportback (left) and RS 6 Avant (proper)
RS testing is not restricted to the Nürburgring, although. The efficiency fashions should meet the identical sturdiness requirements as different Audi fashions, finishing hot-and cold-weather testing at completely different locales all over the world. The RS Q8 accomplished 7.Four million miles of testing, which is the equal of driving all over the world 30 instances. The SUV lapped Italy’s Nardo high-speed check observe, endured the chilly of a Finnish winter, and was examined within the warmth and excessive altitude of South Africa, the automaker stated.
RS fashions are constructed alongside normal Audi fashions at 4 factories. The RS 3, RS 4, and RS 5 are in-built Ingolstadt, Germany, whereas the RS 6 and RS 7 are in-built Neckarsulm, Germany. The RS Q3 and TT RS are in-built Gyor, Hungary, and the RS Q8 is in-built Bratislava, Slovakia. At every manufacturing facility, RS-specific components are added on the acceptable factors within the meeting course of. That consists of particular sheet metallic: on the RS 6 Avant, solely the entrance doorways, roof, and tailgate are unchanged from the bottom A6 Avant. The exterior adjustments are largely impressed by the form-follows-function look of race vehicles.
Audi famous that its Quality Assurance division assembles the RS our bodies on aluminum grasp jigs that make use of state-of-the-art measuring options similar to laser scanners to measure a number of million factors on the floor of any half. This permits Audi to alter all surfaces, joints, and radii to the tenth of a millimeter to enhance the aerodynamics of the vehicles.
The Neckarsulm manufacturing facility is positioned close to Audi Sports’ headquarters, and it has a check observe the place vehicles are shaken down earlier than cargo to clients. Race vehicles are constructed on the identical property, which can even host an meeting facility for the Audi E-Tron GT electrical automobile.
Audi at present has 12 RS fashions in its lineup, with eight bought within the United States. The subsequent one will seemingly be a redesigned RS 3, based mostly on the up to date A3 compact. With the brand new A3 scheduled to arrive within the U.S. as a 2021 mannequin, anticipate the RS 3 to launch in the course of the 2022 mannequin 12 months. As with the present era, the RS Three will seemingly be supplied solely as a sedan within the U.S., with a hatchback model out there elsewhere.
