2027 RS5 Breaks Unwanted Record For Audi Sport Cars

Key Points

• The 2027 Audi RS5 is a heavy plug-in hybrid, weighing over 5,190 pounds.
• Despite increased weight, the RS5 offers 630 hp, faster acceleration, and up to 52 miles of electric range.
• Fuel efficiency peaks at 61.9 mpg with battery, but drops to 23.1 mpg with the pack depleted.

The all-new Audi RS5, which comes in sedan and wagon body styles as it replaces both the previous-generation RS5 Sportback and the RS4 Avant, is Audi Sport’s first high-performance plug-in hybrid model.

As BMW has shown with its current M5 PHEV, going down the plug-in hybrid route does come with a big downside: the weight goes up significantly.

Unfortunately, the Audi RS5 makes no exception, and while everyone expected it to be heavy given the complex powertrain that includes a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6, an electric motor, a high-voltage battery pack, and a hybridized 8-speed Tiptronic gearbox, the actual curb weight will probably blow you mind.

The stated curb weight of the 2027 Audi RS5 sedan is 5,192 pounds (2,355 kg), which makes it a whopping 1,376 pounds (624 kg) heavier than its predecessor, the 2024 Audi RS5 Sportback. And if you go for the RS5 Avant wagon, you’ll have to settle for a curb weight of 5,225 lbs (2,370 kg). That’s a huge increase over the outgoing RS4 Avant, which weighed 4,012 lbs (1,820 kg).

That’s quite a lot of pounds for a midsize car, and to put things into perspective, the new RS5 is actually the heaviest Audi Sport production car to date; only the RS Q8 SUV trumps it with a curb weight of 5,434 pounds. The new RS5 is also heavier than many larger performance vehicles. For example, the base Porsche Taycan electric sedan, which packs a much larger battery, tips the scales at 4,630 lbs, while the V8-powered Audi RS6 Avant wagon weighs 5,016 pounds.

Even some four-door Ford F-150 pickup truck variants are lighter than the 2027 RS5, which is downright ridiculous. The F-150 SuperCrew 4×4 with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine weighs around 4,500 pounds; mind you, there are many other lighter F-150 configurations.

At least the new RS5 sedan is lighter than the BMW M5 (5,532 lbs), although the latter is a bigger, more powerful vehicle. I’m sure you can find more examples of bigger vehicles that are lighter than the RS5, but you get the point.

While the RS5’s curb weight is not great news for a high-performance vehicle, it’s worth noting that the power-to-weight ratio of the new model has remained unchanged from the old one at 0.121 hp/lb, as The Drive points out. That’s due to new RS5’s major bump in power, as the plug-in hybrid system delivers a total of 630 hp and 608 lb-ft of torque compared to 444 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque before.

The performance is also improved, at least on paper. Zero to 62 mph takes 3.6 seconds, whereas the previous RS5 Sportback needed 3.8 seconds to cover the same sprint. But the biggest improvement—at least for those who asked for it—is that now you can cruise silently around town on battery power alone, as the 2027 RS5 offers an all-electric range of up to 52 miles.

Obviously, the fuel efficiency is higher when the battery chips in—up to 61.9 mpg non-EPA estimate. Mind you, when the battery is drained, it’s a totally different story as the claimed rating drops to a minimum of 23.1 mpg because of the extra weight.