There was much to like about the original Paris 2010
Sport Quattro Concept
, not least its hot hatch kerb weight and authentic 408hp five-cylinder turbo engine.
Steve Lewis, British head of Audi's concept design studio, obviously agreed. Which is why we got another version of it at Frankfurt. So how's it different?
Expect this front end on your bumper soon...
"Well, we changed the colour!" he laughs, before taking a more serious tone. "From our side we really believed in the original Paris concept car and we wanted to have another go at it to get it into the heads of our management that we need to get this car made." Promising!
So why the half tonne weight gain, longer wheelbase and on-message hybrid theme? Albeit 700hp's worth.
"I think before the marketing and management teams didn't see the numbers," he says. "Marketing said if it's going to sell we need more room in the back so with that influence we're testing the water again." A shift from an RS5-based platform to a newer RS6/RS7 one meant more room, a wider and more muscular stance to give it proper concept presence and that 560hp V8 too.
Whether it makes it into production or not certain styling elements will. "The traditional Quattro wheelarches ... that's something we're really going to pick up on in the future for sure," says Lewis. So why did they ditch them for the new RS6? "We did try it but there was a problem with the rear door handle position. The blister was exactly where the door handle was."
Four headlights and the sharper grille elements will become signatures for forthcoming performance Audis though so expect a clearer identity for fast Audis in the years ahead.