It’s not often that two letters can evoke as much as excitement in gearheads as the ‘RS’ badge that adorns some Audi models. The Audi RS performance model range started with the Audi RS2 Avant of 1994 – a car that, to the untrained eye, looked like an Audi 80 with a set of Porsche alloys. Under the unassuming hood, however, the RS2 Avant had a 310 hp five-cylinder engine, stick-shift, and sophisticated Porsche-engineered components, not to mention a sub-five seconds 0 to 60-mph sprint.

Over the years, Audi developed the RS range, often applying the badge as a last hurrah to models that were shortly due to be replaced, and worked its magic on everything from big A6 estates to giant four-door coupes.

Audi even took its RS badge slapped it on the pretty TT and turned it into a supercar-troubling monster. The RS club is an exclusive club for anyone who wants otherworldly performance often fitted into reliable everyday Audi models. But is it prohibitively expensive?

HotCars set out to find out the cheapest ways into Audi RS ownership, using the KBB.com Fair Purchase Price index, and the answer is: it may be a lot cheaper than you think.

9 2003 Audi RS6 Sedan – $14,721

2003 Audi RS6 Sedan Specs

Source: Audi

Aside from the RS2, a Porsche-tweaked Audi 80 that had grip and turbo lag by the bucketload, few RS models set the two-lettered badge towards hero status like the early 2000s RS6. The RS6 kicked off a whole range of cool Audi sleepers. It has a twin-turbocharged 4.2-liter V8 that pumped out more power than a Porsche 911 Turbo of the same year, channeled through all four wheels.

The Audi cost $84,660 when new and reached legend status through being the ultimate low-key gangster ride in Brit flick Layer Cake. It may have looked subtly menacing, but one downright scary thing is maintenance bills – an alternator replacement can cost up to $1,318 according to Repairpal.com.

8 2013 Audi RS5 – $18,377

2013 Audi RS5 Specs

Source: Audi

While the TT RS was being fitted with a five-cylinder engine (see further down our list) to evoke the noise of the Ur-Quattro of the ’80s, the RS5 was intended to be its spiritual successor.

The box arches and coupe body made the RS5 a modern interpretation of the much-loved rally legend for the road, while the powerplant was something very different. The RS5 has a thundering 450 hp 4.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 that will keep revving until 8500 rpm. Here are ten reasons to love the RS5.

7 2008 Audi RS4 – $23,914

2008 Audi RS4 Specs

Source: Audi

With its blended-in spoiler, blistered wheel arches, and air vents that looked like it had been in a scrap with a Siberian tiger, the RS4 is a package full of honed performance. Audi shoehorned a 4.2-liter V8 engine into the A4, equipped with direct fuel injection and a 12.5:1 compression ratio, producing 420 hp and 317 pound-feet of torque. The car cost $73,785 when new and a 2008 model now sells for $23,914, but the RS4 is going up in value.

6 2008 Audi RS4 Cabriolet – $24,622

2008 Audi RS4 Cabriolet Specs

Source: Audi

The RS4 Cabriolet may not be the purists’ choice – lopping off the roof isn’t a recipe for improving structural rigidity – but the rag-top RS4 commands slightly higher prices on the used market in the US.

The 2008 RS4 Quattro Cabriolet 2D starts at $24,622 today, originally priced from $84,775, according to KBB Fair Purchase Price, and is an interesting V8 alternative to open-top American muscle cars. The annual maintenance cost of a 2008 Audi RS4 is $1,206, says Repairpal.

5 2012 Audi TT RS – $24,318

2012 Audi TT RS Specs

Source: Audi

Audi is a bit like a classic band that, despite bringing out new albums, everyone talks about their debut until the end of time. The Quattro, a model that dominated rallying in the ’80s and launched the concept of turbocharged four-wheel cars that is still in vogue, is that first album.

Another unique characteristic of this all-conquering coupe was the five-cylinder engine. With the awesome 2012 TT RS, Audi tried to evoke the spirit of this great ancestor by fitting a turbocharged 2.5-liter, five-pot engine with direct gasoline injection. This mill produces 355 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque. The 2012 TT RS Quattro Coupe starts at $24,318 today, originally priced at $57,725.

4 2018 Audi RS3 – $35,418

2018 Audi RS3 Specs

Source: Audi

While drivers in Europe had been treated to Audi’s RS3 for a few years prior, the car finally arrived in 2017 stateside. Other markets had been enjoying the RS3 as a ballistic hot hatch that was almost four times more powerful than the Golf GTI Mk1 that helped kick off the market segment.

The US market got the RS3 as a small sedan, fitted with a turbocharged five-cylinder engine that is rated at 400 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque. The hot A3 could even take on the fastest A7. Prices for the 2018 Audi RS3 sedan start at $35,418, against an original sticker price of $55,875 when new.

3 2019 Audi RS5 Sportback – $39,878

2019 Audi RS 5 Hatchback Specs

Source: Audi

The Audi RS5 Sportback is essentially a hatchback sedan for anyone who needs more space and doors in their coupe. If drivers hadn’t quite detached themselves from their roguish past, the RS5 Sportback certainly had, swapping out the V8 that had been the killer feature in previous RS5s for a twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6 engine.

While it might not sound as exciting as a V8, that engine does develop 444 horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque, so not exactly short of oomph. A 2019 Audi RS5 Sportback has depreciated $30,422 in the last three years and has a KBB Fair Purchase Price of $39,778, almost half of the original showroom price of $75,195.

2 2016 Audi RS7 Performance – $40,929

2016 Audi RS7 Performance Specs

Source: Audi

You may well be thinking, hang on, more than 40 grand isn’t an affordable car. But then consider that in 2016 someone paid at least $129,925 for the range-topping 2016 RS 7 Performance sedan that you are shelling out an average of $40,929 for. Audi A7s are a fairly common sight on the roads these days, with the RS7 only subtly standing out from the rest of the range, but in 2016 the RS-version certainly raised a few eyebrows.

The 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 in the RS7 Performance produces 605 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque meaning that this svelte and stealthy four-door coupe could hit 60 mph in 3.3 seconds. It was finally a true competitor for the M5 CS. But that wasn’t really the headline figure people were talking about – it was more the fact that you could hit almost 200 mph on a German autobahn on the way to that important Powerpoint presentation.

1 2018 Audi TT RS – $44,398

2018 Audi TT RS Specs

Source: Audi

The Audi TT has always been a pretty car, with decent go from turbocharged four-cylinders and 3.2-liter V6s, but it was always something of a sports car for the masses. The 2018 TT RS was quite different. Armed with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic and the inline five-cylinder now ramped up to 400 hp, the TT was now hanging around in supercar territory.

The TT RS hits 60 mph in 3.4 seconds – scarcely slower than a 2018 Porcshe 911 GT3 and reaches 174 mph flat out. The 2018 TT RS sold for $66,875 new and six years on you can have one for $44,398.