The horsepower war between German car makers is now turned into a somewhat cold war and Audi has done something that amounts to moving nuclear warheads to the opponents’ borders. They have just launched the Audi RS Performance versions of the RS6 and RS7 with 605 horsepower.

Now that might not sound a lot for you tuning junkies out there, but 605 horsepower from a standard factory car is pretty damn good by anyone’s standards. Audi RS Performance models use the same 4.0 TFSI engine as the normal models by 45 PS and 50 Nm to 605 PS and 750 Nm of torque, resulting in a 0 to 60 time of 3.7 seconds and top speed of 189mph. Those numbers apply to both the RS6 and RS7 Performance models.

Audi RS Performance are also among the most efficient cars you can find in this class, although we find it hard to believe the Germans in this sense after the VW scandal. But Audi says that, thanks to measures such as Audi cylinder on demand (COD), you should be able to get up to 29.4mpg in the RS 6 Avant performance and 29.7mpg in the RS 7 Sportback performance.

Visually, Audi RS Performance are distinguished by a quattro logo on the air inlet duct and matt titanium-look detailing plus exclusive 21-inch wheels. Black and blue Alcantara and leather interior with super sport seats and inlays in carbon with blue thread are among the highlights of the interior.

Pricing for the Audi RS6 Performance starts from £86,000 in the UK while RS7 Sportback kicks off from £91,600.