• Audi RS 5 PHEV showcases breakthrough in dynamic torque control Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit Flipboard Email The new Audi RS 5 is such a technological showcase it should come with the iconic ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ advertising slogan plastered all over it. • That marketing phrase meant “progress through technology” and, because it was in German and we didn’t quite understand it, the slogan came to imply Teutonic efficiency, expertise, innovation and premium quality. • Okay, in recent years it has become less central to Audi’s output. • It doesn’t seem to fit an ad for an economical A1 hatchback or Q3 family SUV so well. • But Audi has just unveiled a new and very worthy Vorsprung durch Technik candidate to the world. • Its latest version of the RS 5 is the brand’s first ever high-performance plug-in hybrid but, more importantly for the wider motoring world, it features some state-of-the-art Audi-style motoring tech.

Article Summaries:

  • Audi has unveiled its first high‑performance plug‑in hybrid, the 2026 RS 5, combining a 2.9‑liter V6 with a 130‑kW electric motor for 630 hp and a 25.9‑kWh battery. The sedan (and forthcoming wagon) features an eight‑speed Tiptronic gearbox and a new “Dynamic Torque Control” system that uses an electric motor to instantaneously shift power to the outside wheel during cornering. Calculated 200 times per second, the system proactively prevents understeer, giving the 2.5‑tonne RS 5 handling akin to a lightweight go‑kart. This marks the first production car to employ such electro‑mechanical torque distribution.

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