Video: 2017 Audi RS4 Avant spied tackling the Nürburgring

AUDI’S engineers have been caught putting the finishing touches to the new, fourth generation version of its RS4 performance car. Caught on video at the Nürburgring racing circuit in Germany, the new model is seen undergoing tyre, suspension and braking tests, as well as engine durability, before it goes on sale in Britain next year.

As you’d expect from the four-wheel-drive Avant estate car, it appears to grip like a kitten on carpet as it tackles the daunting twists, turns and undulations of the Nordschleife, before it is returned to a workshop for inspection.

In a change from the past two Audi RS4 models, and like the original, 1999 version, the performance car is said to be ditching its V8 engine in favour of a more efficient, cleaner V6. And new technology, including the adoption of an electric turbocharger to supplement a traditional turbo that is driven off exhaust gases, should ensure that its dedicated band of followers won’t be disappointed by the switch to a V6 motor.

View the Audi RS4s for sale on driving.co.uk

The 2017 RS4 is expect to produce around 470bhp, compared with the last model’s 444bhp. The new generation of V6 engine is also tipped to make its way beneath the engine cover of the latest R8 sports car.

“I can’t remember a car attracting so much interest. And all looked terribly deflated when I explained that it was utter, utter crap.” Read Jeremy Clarkson’s review of the 2014 Audi RS4