All-New Audi RS6 Avant Fully Revealed in Patent Images [Correction: It’s the RS4…]

Update: As some of you rightfully pointed out, we fell victim to Audi’s one-style fits all approach and took L’Automobile’s report for granted. As it turns out, these patent images ARE NOT of the RS6 but of the new RS4 Avant that was revealed back in February 2012.

Over the past few months, we have been following around prototypes of the next generation Audi RS6 while testing across Europe, and today, we can show you what the most powerful version of the latest A6 series will look like thanks to these images from the patent office.

Developed from the ground-up by Quattro GmbH, Audi’s high-performance sub-division, the new RS6 Avant employs all the usual design cues you expect to find on an RS model.

These include the flared wheel arches housing larger rims, the mesh grille and air vents on the redesigned front bumper, the side skirts, and a new rear bumper with a diffuser and twin-tail pipes.

We will repeat that we do not know for sure if Quattro’s engineers will ditch the older model’s 571hp (579PS) 5.0-liter bi-turbo V10 in favor of a tweaked version of Audi’s new 4.0-liter TSI that powers Audi’s S6 and S7 (420HP) as well as the S8 (520HP) and the Bentley Continental models (500HP), though all evidence does seem to point towards the eight-cylinder unit.

The new RS6 Avant could make its world premiere as early as this September at the Paris Motor Show, with sales to follow next spring.

Thanks to our “06” tipster!

Story References: Audi via L’Automobile

PHOTO GALLERY