RS4 Avant

STORY

The first RS 4 was the B5 Avant of 1999, an estate only, built by quattro GmbH around a 2.7-litre biturbo V6 reworked with Cosworth Technology to 280 kW (380 PS); it went to most of Europe but never to North America. The B7, shown in Ingolstadt in February 2005 and at Geneva that March, used a naturally aspirated 4.2-litre V8 FSI of 309 kW (420 PS) and came as saloon, Avant and Cabriolet. It was the only RS 4 sold in the United States, where it followed a Detroit debut in January 2006 and reached buyers that June, as a saloon and in small numbers a Cabriolet, never an Avant. The B8 Avant of 2012 kept the V8 and lifted it to 331 kW (450 PS) while dropping the other bodies. The B9, unveiled at Frankfurt in 2017, swapped in a 2.9-litre V6 biturbo at the same 450 PS, and production ran to 2025, closing with the 250-car edition 25 years at 346 kW (470 PS).