The Audi RS family is now short by two members, according to a report out of Germany. The claim is that the German automaker has temporarily discontinued the 2013 Audi RS4 Avant and the 2014 Audi RS5 Coupe and 2014 Audi RS5 Cabriolet.
What’s odd about this report is the timing. You see, the A4->ke1087 and A5->ke1188 are set for updates in 2016, and their respective RS versions will not arrive until 2017. This means that there will be a full two years before the new versions of these models roll out.
On the surface, there isn’t a very good reason for discontinuing these two with such a large gap between now and the production restart. Obviously, there is more to this than meets the eye, but I am drawing a blank as to what the other reasons could be.
For those of you who simply cannot wait until 2017, the S4->ke1088 and S5->ke2297 will get their refresh in 2016 as well. This way, you can get at least a taste of Audi performance without waiting too awfully long.
To make matters worse, if you were planning on running out and picking up one of these discontinued models now, you may be out of luck. According to the report, Audi->ke14 has already stopped production and is not taking any more orders of these two RS models. So, you had better hope that dealers in your area have a little leftover stock.
I hope that we’ll have some updates on the next-generation RS4->ke742 and RS5->ke2628 soon, but I don’t recommend holding your breath.
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Why it matters
Clearly, the RS4 Avant and RS5 are not volume sellers in Audi’s lineup. Otherwise, there is no way in the world it would discontinue them. Despite this not being a big strain on its sales volume, I am still grasping at air trying to find a good reason for Audi to cut these new models with a pair of years between now and the release of their respective replacements. I guess that I why I am here banging on keys instead of running an auto company.
2013 Audi RS4 Avant
Read our full review here.
2014 Audi RS5 Coupe
Read our full review here.