Audi shows sporting strength
Audi RS Q e-tron: This vehicle is the Dakar Rally race car; it is not available for purchase. Closed track, professional driver. Do not imitate.
Audi RS Q e-tron: This vehicle is the Dakar Rally race car; it is not available for purchase. Closed track, professional driver. Do not imitate.
High performance is the core idea not only behind all of the products of Audi Sport GmbH, but behind everything Audi Sport does. “That is what drives us,” says Rolf Michl, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH and Head of Audi Motorsport. And the drive is an important keyword when it comes to Audi Sport vehicles: no matter whether there is an internal combustion engine or an electric motor under the hood, all R and RS models from Audi Sport are breathtaking, dynamic and full of character. They deliver top performance wherever and whenever desired, but also ensure relaxed confidence on long journeys. And that is important because many Audi RS drivers use their cars for business travel or shopping trips on a daily basis.
Born in motorsport, tested under extreme conditions and brought to production maturity – these are the hallmarks of the high-performance vehicles from Audi Sport. “The RS models are the dynamic spearhead of their particular model series. They captivate customers with pure emotion and shape the sporty image of the Audi brand,” explains Sebastian Grams, who as Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH is responsible for the series-production range. “In 2022, we delivered a total of 45,515 vehicles – an increase of 15.6 percent compared with the prior year.”
The financial success of Audi Sport is also aided by the Audi exclusive customization program, which aims to fulfill exclusive and individual customer needs. From paint finishes in the customer’s preferred color to luxurious interior options such as high-quality leather, decorative stitching and selected woods to limited special editions – the wide range of options leaves little to be desired. This appeals to customers all over the world: in 2022, Audi exclusive realized ten R and RS special editions and customized one in four Audi R8 vehicles.
High-performance product portfolio
Audi Sport offers its customers a wide range of choices with its high-performance product portfolio. With 16 different models, it is larger than ever before. The electric showpiece is the Audi RS e‑tron GT. As the first fully electric RS model, the four-door coupé marks the beginning of a consistent electrification strategy by Audi Sport.
Audi RS e-tron GT: electric power consumption (combined): 22.1–19.8 kWh/100 km; CO₂ emissions (combined): 0 g/km; CO₂ class: A
Audi RS e-tron GT: electric power consumption (combined): 22.1–19.8 kWh/100 km; CO₂ emissions (combined): 0 g/km; CO₂ class: A
“Electrification and performance are a perfect fit. The two elements create a new dimension for a sporty driving experience.”
Today it is clear that electrification and performance are a perfect fit. The two elements create a new dimension for a sporty driving experience. And customers have come to value this. In 2022, the Four Rings delivered 10,042 cars from the Audi e‑tron GT family. Sebastian Grams: “This success and in particular the consistently positive response to the Audi RS e‑tron GT1 confirm our strategy of further electrifying our portfolio in the coming years. Our goal: we want to provide our customers with the right offering for each specific segment – from broad-based electrification via mild hybrids to the flexibility of a plug-in hybrid and the special driving experience of an electric car.”
To achieve this, Audi Sport is taking advantage of in-house synergies and relying, among other things, on the new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture developed jointly by Audi and Porsche. The architecture offers a high performance spectrum and is thus suitable as a basis for high-performance vehicles such as the RS models.
Collaboration and the resulting synergies within Audi and the Progressive brand group are already important cornerstones of Audi Sport’s success today. Visitors to the sports car production facility at Böllinger Höfe in Neckarsulm can see this for themselves: not only are the models of the Audi e‑tron GT2 and Audi R8 series built on a shared assembly line, the team in the body shop also works simultaneously on the body of the Lamborghini Huracán and the Audi R8 – almost exclusively by hand.
The latter model family is set to have a special year in 2023: the new Audi R8 GT, limited to 333 vehicles, will delight customers worldwide. For the first time, Audi is combining the most powerful configuration of the naturally aspirated V10 engine with rear-wheel drive. At the same time, the Audi R8 GT3 is the final edition of the exclusive supercar.
Audi e-tron GT quattro: Power consumption (combined) in kWh/100 km: 21.6–19.6CO₂ emissions (combined) in g/km: 0CO₂ emission class: A
Audi R8 Coupé RWD:
Audi RS e-tron GT: Power consumption (combined) in kWh/100 km: 21.1–18.4CO₂ emissions (combined) in g/km: 0CO₂ emission class: A
Audi e-tron GT quattro: Power consumption (combined) in kWh/100 km: 21.6–19.6CO₂ emissions (combined) in g/km: 0CO₂ emission class: A
Audi R8 Coupé RWD:
Audi RS e-tron GT: Power consumption (combined) in kWh/100 km: 21.1–18.4CO₂ emissions (combined) in g/km: 0CO₂ emission class: A
#1 Audi Sport
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Audi RS 6 Avant 4.0 TFSI quattro (center, front row of the picture): Audi RS 6 Avant performance: fuel consumption (combined) in l/100 km: 12.7–12.2 (WLTP), CO₂ emissions (combined) in g/km: 289–277 (WLTP). Consumption and emission figures for the vehicle are available only according to WLTP and not according to NEDC. Information on fuel/electric power consumption and CO₂ emissions in ranges depends on the vehicle’s selected equipment.
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Audi Sport Neckarsulm
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Audi RS 7 Sportback performance: fuel consumption (combined) in l/100 km: 12.5–12.0; CO₂ emissions (combined) in g/km: 284–273. Information on fuel/electric power consumption and CO₂ emissions in ranges depends on the vehicle’s selected equipment. Consumption and emission figures for the vehicle are available only according to WLTP and not according to NEDC.
Helping customers get to the top
The Audi R8 is also the technical basis for most of the successes achieved in customer racing. Audi Sport offers a total of three R8 motorsport models with different performance levels, plus a racing version of the Audi RS 3 Sedan. All Audi Sport customer racing cars have one thing in common: the Audi Sport DNA. And that is in great demand. In 2022, the customer racing department produced the 300th Audi R8 LMS GT3, bringing the total number of race cars built over the course of 14 years to 750.
The year 2022 was also successful on the race track. Never before have Audi Sport customer racing and its teams clinched so many titles and podium positions. “We topped our previous record from the year before by an impressive 11 titles, for a total of 76. Overall, we have claimed 290 individual victories in 806 races, including three at 24-hour races. That’s also a first-class achievement,” analyzes Rolf Michl.
Audi RS 3 Limousine: fuel consumption (combined): 9,4–8,9 l/100 km; CO2 emissions (combined): 214–201 g/km; CO₂ class: G
Audi RS 3 Limousine: fuel consumption (combined): 9,4–8,9 l/100 km; CO2 emissions (combined): 214–201 g/km; CO₂ class: G
#2 Audi Sport customer racing
Preparations for the 2024 Dakar Rally have begun
However, one vehicle in the Audi Sport lineup is not available for purchase by customers: the Audi RS Q e‑tron4 with which the company competes in the Dakar Rally. The task the Four Rings has set itself is no less than to revolutionize endurance rallying and rank among the best. As the first manufacturer to use an electrified drive system in combination with an efficient energy converter, Audi will compete against conventionally powered rivals for overall victory in the world’s toughest rally.
The legendary event was held in the Saudi Arabian desert for the fourth time in January 2023. Audi started with three Audi RS Q e-tron4 cars of the second evolution stage in 2023 – with significant improvements over the first version in terms of bodywork and aerodynamics as well as with new operating strategies that further improved the efficiency of the electric drive.
The stages on the route between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf were longer and more difficult than in the previous year, ranging from 114 to 447 special stage kilometers. Despite various setbacks, the team achieved good individual results, especially on the final stages. “We definitely lacked the necessary racing luck this year, among other things,” says Rolf Michl. “But the most important thing for us is that the complex drive technology worked without a hitch under these really challenging conditions.” Needless to say, Audi is keeping its sights firmly set on a podium finish: “We started our preparations for the 2024 Dakar Rally right away and will come back even stronger.”
#3 Dakar Rally
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Audi RS Q e-tron: This vehicle is the Dakar Rally race car; it is not available for purchase. Closed track, professional driver. Do not imitate.
Audi RS Q e-tron: This vehicle is the Dakar Rally race car; it is not available for purchase. Closed track, professional driver. Do not imitate.
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Audi RS Q e-tron: This vehicle is the Dakar Rally race car; it is not available for purchase. Closed track, professional driver. Do not imitate.
Audi RS Q e-tron: This vehicle is the Dakar Rally race car; it is not available for purchase. Closed track, professional driver. Do not imitate.
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Audi RS Q e-tron: This vehicle is the Dakar Rally race car; it is not available for purchase. Closed track, professional driver. Do not imitate.
Audi RS Q e-tron: This vehicle is the Dakar Rally race car; it is not available for purchase. Closed track, professional driver. Do not imitate.
Involvement in the top class
Innovation comes about in particular when people are faced with major challenges. And Audi is taking on what is probably the biggest challenge when it comes to combining sustainability, innovation and maximum performance in motorsport: as of 2026, the brand with the Four Rings will be competing in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. “Motorsport is an integral part of our history and the Audi DNA. With Formula 1, we’re moving on to the next chapter,” says Oliver Hoffmann, Board Member for Technical Development at AUDI AG. “There’s simply no better place to demonstrate ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’.” Audi will be competing in Formula 1 with strategic partner Sauber as its entry team, a company in which the Four Rings has a minority stake. With around 30 years of competitive experience, Sauber is one of the most renowned and long-established Formula 1 teams.
“Motorsport is an integral part of our history and the Audi DNA. With Formula 1, we’re moving on to the next chapter.”
“Formula 1 is a global stage for our brand and a challenging development laboratory at once,” says Oliver Hoffmann. Thanks to the new regulations that are going to be introduced, 2026 is exactly the right time for Audi to make its entry – Formula 1 and Audi are both pursuing clear sustainability goals. Among other things, the new rules of the international automobile association FIA stipulate the use of synthetic fuels, while at the same time raising the share of electric drive power to around 50 percent. Formula 1 has also set itself the ambitious goal of making its racing series net carbon-neutral by 2030.
The entire power unit, consisting of electric motor, battery, highly efficient combustion engine and energy recovery system, is being developed by Audi at the site of Audi Formula Racing GmbH in Neuburg an der Donau, a company founded specifically for this purpose. This means a Formula 1 drive system will be made in Germany for the first time in more than a decade.
Audi is running on an ambitious schedule until its first race in the 2026 season: development of the power unit is in full swing. At the start of 2023, the company already had around 240 employees working on the Formula 1 project, with the number set to rise. The site’s expansion in terms of both personnel and technical infrastructure is scheduled to be largely completed this year. The Motorsport Competence Center in Neuburg an der Donau, which opened in summer 2014, is considered one of the most modern of its kind and is being expanded for the Formula 1 project. A new building measuring around 3,000 square meters, which is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2024, will primarily house new test rigs for the development of the power unit. Electricity and heat supply in Neuburg are already carbon-neutral.
Financially, too, the motorsport venture is on a firm footing. This is partly due to the cost cap prescribed in the Formula 1 regulations, which greatly limits the expenditure for each team and season. From 2023, this budget ceiling will also apply to the development of the power unit.
#4 Formula 1
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