Audi has handed its RS6 Avant and RS7 Sportback the Performance treatment, cranking up the twin-turbo V8’s peak outputs and cutting cabin insulation…

Standard Audi RS6 Avant and RS7 Sportback not quite potent enough for you? Well, the Ingolstadt-based firm has whipped the wraps off new Performance flagship derivatives, offering more power, faster acceleration and less cabin insulation.

Audi South Africa has confirmed to Cars.co.za the two new Performance derivatives are scheduled to launch locally in the second half of 2023.

While the standard models employ an already potent twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine worth 441 kW and 800 Nm, the version used in the freshly minted Performance variants upgrades to larger turbochargers and features an increase in boost pressure.

The result? Peak outputs of 463 kW and 850 Nm, and a claimed 0-100 kph sprint time of just 3.4 seconds (for the record, that’s two-tenths quicker than the standard models). In short, Audi’s Performance badge here plays a similar role to the BMW M division’s Competition moniker and Mercedes-AMG’s S designation.

Audi’s Performance models are louder and lighter

In addition, Audi says it has reduced the amount of insulation between the engine compartment, the cabin and the rear of the vehicle, both allowing the V8 soundtrack to resonate louder and saving a total of 8 kg (thus, the RS6 Avant Performance tips the scales at 2 090 kg, while the RS7 Sportback Performance weighs 2 065 kg).

As with the standard models, the Performance derivatives employ an 8-speed automatic transmission (but with updated software that makes for faster shifting), which delivers drive via a permanent all-wheel-drive system. Audi says a “lighter and more compact” self-locking centre differential is also included, claiming this results in “more precise cornering” and less understeer at the limit.

Both the new RS6 Avant Performance and RS7 Sportback Performance ship standard on 21-inch aluminium cast wheels in a 10-spoke star design and wrapped in 273/35 tyres. The list of options includes 22-inch lightweight wheels, which each save around 5 kg (for a 20 kg reduction in unsprung mass) and come fitted with high-performance Continental Sport Contact 7 rubber (in 285/30 size).

The German company has also tweaked the drive select dynamic handling system, while the RS Dynamic Package – which hikes top speed to 280 km/h and adds dynamic all-wheel steering and a quattro sport differential on the rear axle – is standard equipment. For Autobahn-frequenting buyers, Audi furthermore offers the RS Dynamics Package Plus as an option, which raises the maximum speed to 305 km/h and adds an RS ceramic brake system (saving a further 34 kg).

Choice tweaks for the RS6 and RS7 cabins

Inside, Audi has rolled out a new RS design package in blue. Tick this box and the steering wheel rim come finished in black with Mercato blue contrasting stitching, a treatment repeated on the floor mats, the side of the centre console and the selector lever cuff. The seat belts are full-surface ocean blue with the decorative inlays in a carbon twill structure with optional blue accents.

There are also entrance LEDs in the front doors that project “RS Performance” lettering onto the ground, while the 12.3-inch Audi Virtual Cockpit Plus offers fresh features such as a blinking shift indicator in manual mode.

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