What is the Fastest Audi?
Audi—we know the company for its smooth and luxurious rides. But can you guess which one of their vehicles set a 2021 world record for the fastest AWD Audi?
Written by Elaine Duvet
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Though
Audi
dates back to the 1930s, when it helped form the now extinct Auto Union, it wasn’t until the ‘80s that Audi produced fast vehicles that put other performance cars to shame.The company implemented all-wheel-drive and launched its Quattro line, ensuring a place for their autos in the
luxury vehicle
market. So which cars in the Audi collection are the fastest to date?The Quattros that put Audi on the map
First launched in 1980, the original Audi Quattro (or the 1982 Audi Quattro) was a “homologation car for the Group B rally, coming to America for 1982,” according to
MotorTrend
. The Quattro would eventually be the inspiration for the RS sub-brand. It’s safe to say it became quite an icon in the motorsport world after its success at the World Rally Championship.We’d also like to pay homage to the 1984 Sport Quattro, an exceptional rally machine. Only 200 hundred models were made, featuring a 2.1-liter inline-five powering all four wheels. With 306 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque, this street-legal auto was just over 2,500 pounds.
The Sport Quattro also offered cutting technology for its time. The quaint car featured “anti-lock brakes and Audi’s first-generation Quattro system, and the Sport Quattro became one of the most legendary performance cars of the 1980s,” according to
MotorBiscuit
.MORE: Tom Holland Is an Audi Lover, and We Love Him For That
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Audi station wagons leave competitors in the dust
We also have to give some credit to the 2014 RS6 Avant. We love a good station wagon that can double as a supercar. Primarily known in the European market, “Audi borrowed a 4.0-liter V8 from Volkswagen Auto Group stablemate Bentley and dropped it into this midsize wagon,” according to MotorBiscuit.
This wagon can reach 190 mph with 560 hp working with all four wheels. And for a family-style car, jumping from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds is pretty impressive. Your
teenagers
might even look up from their smartphones.The European market 2014 RS4 Avant Nogaro “burst onto the scene in 2014 as a special edition model celebrating the 20th anniversary of the RS2 Avant, Audi’s original hot rod wagon,” according to MotorBiscuit.
With an iconic ‘90s paint job, the auto could reach a top speed of 174 mph. It had seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and a V8 engine that cranked out 450 hp. The performer sent power to all four wheels and could reach 60 mph in 4.7 seconds.
Fastest Audis from the German automaker
The 2017 S7 is a gorgeous four-door coupe and much faster than it looks. The 4,500-pound luxury sedan is electronically limited to 155 mph (like most Audis). But it does have a 4-liter V8 engine with 450 horses and 406 lb-ft of torque. Drivers can expect to accelerate to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds.
The 2017 S8 Plus rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW which sport V12s in their best sedans.
However, the S8 can keep up with just a 4-liter V8 engine, with 605 hp and 517 lb-ft of torque. According to MotorBiscuit, “The massive S8 Plus can match the TT RS in the zero to 60 sprint at just 3.7 seconds. But it stops at an electronically limited 155 mile per hour.”
While there are plenty of used 2017 RS7s out there, we fancy the 2017 model. The handsome sedan has a 4-liter twin-turbo V8 that gets 560 hp. And it can jump from zero to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds.
The price of the 2017 TT RS starts around $60,000, which isn’t bad considering the suspensions’ strong performance.
According to MotorBiscuit, the auto is “powered by a 2.5-liter inline-five (a nice throwback to the earliest Quattro models), the TT RS sends 400 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels.” It can ramp up to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and reach a top speed of 174 mph.
The 2016 R8 V10 Plus is almost as fast as it gets. It’s really about tenths of seconds here, but this street-legal vehicle is powered by a V10 engine with 610 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque. Its top speed is 205 mph and it can accelerate to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds.
The speed demon is agile, with responsive steering and chassis. Important controls are located on the steering wheel and the car sports a spectacular instrument cluster. The R8 V10 Plus isn’t known for its cargo room, but it's sure to impress your friends with its beastly powertrain.
In 2021, the Audi S2 set a world record for the fastest AWD Audi. The 2.2-liter turbocharged inline-five engine sports a whopping 1,350 hp on the wheels and about 1,500 on the crank.
The 2.5-liter diesel racer’s “power reaches the wheels through a special clutchless Liberty drag transmission working with compressed air to shift the gears. The power flow with this gearbox is never interrupted between gear changes, which allows for extremely consistent output from the engine to the wheels,” according to
Motor1
.Bulgaria’s Heed Auto team designed and tested the S2, and according to Motor1, there’s only one car faster than this track star.
A rumored rear-wheel-drive Audi resides in the U.S. and can take a quarter-mile in about six seconds. Though there have been no officially confirmed reports, it's quite possible one of us could spot this high-speed car in our hometown.
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