It’s a busy time of year for spy photographers, and their latest sighting near the Nürburgring, which is currently hosting industry testing pool days, is a two-for-one special. The first-ever Audi RS Q5 has been spotted, and a the images show, it’ll be offered in both traditional and fastback-style Sportback flavors. Previously, the hottest version of the Audi Q5 was the SQ5, while the smaller Q3 was available in RS form with a five-cylinder turbo engine, and it’s been reinvented several times, first appearing on the world stage as a turbodiesel V6, then as a supercharged V6, and then as either a turbodiesel V6 or a turbocharged gasoline V6. But now, the hottest Q5 will be even more potent, inheriting the powertrain from the latest Audi Sport product, the RS 5.
First-Ever Audi RS Q5 Getting RS 5 Power
Autoblog/SH Proshots
Audi has not released any official information regarding its first-ever RS Q5, but it’s been widely reported that the 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V6 plug-in hybrid powertrain, as seen in the RS 5 sedan and wagon, will be installed here. In the RS 5, this delivers 630 horsepower, and the RS Q5 is expected to either mirror that figure or get close to it. In other words, bank on more than 600 hp. By comparison, the upcoming RS Q5’s most direct contemporary rival is the F97 X3 M Competition and the F98 X4 M Comp produce “just” 503 hp. How wild that we live in a world where a 500-hp compact crossover may be considered underpowered. But Audi has to move the goalposts because a new X3 is on the way, and that’ll surely get more power too.
Autoblog/SH Proshots
The current G45 X3 doesn’t have a hot M variant, only the 393-hp M50 (a rival for which Audi is also working on), and the M division may only apply its skills to the all-electric versions of the X3 and X4 (the latter won’t return as a gas option because the similar X2 is catering to those buyers). Therefore, if BMW returns to fight the RS Q5 with a gas alternative, it’ll need to increase output over the last M Competition models dramatically. On the other hand, if BMW decides the segment should only be served by EVs going forward, Audi could have this little corner of the market to itself.
2027/28 Audi RS Q5 Looks Menacing
Autoblog/SH Proshots
Both the RS Q5 and the RS Q5 Sportback prototypes spotted by our spies have extensive camouflage, so it’s unclear if the tall vertical grilles either side of the main grille will be integrated with the central aperture through masses of gloss black, but we hope not. The rectangular side opening look sharp and well-defined as is, and too much gloss black could give the RS Q5 the same catfish mouth as its sedan- and wagon-shaped powertrain donor. Further back, large wheels are currently housed within arches with sudden, inelegant wheel arch extensions, but if the RS 5 is any indication, more sculptural fenders will be crafted, likely smoothly integrated into slightly more aggressive side skirts. Dynamic LED patterns will be available for the lighting units on each end, but the RS Q5 may do its lower rear end differently from the RS 5. There’s still evidence of a meaty rear diffuser panel at the bottom of the bumper (still with room for a towbar), and the roof spoiler adds a little more spice, but thankfully, it appears that Audi has resisted the urge to oversize the oval exhaust tipes, with a more conservative size seen on the regular crossover. The Sportback has larger outles with perforated tips, but they’re still less extreme than the RS 5. Hopefully, the more restrained approach will carry through to production, but with near-production bodywork seen here, Audi is making quick progress, and we should see the final design on other prototypes by the winter. Expect a reveal sometime in 2027, potentially for the 2028 model year.
Autoblog/SH Proshots
