Updated: It appears the initial report by Autocar, which stated that Audi would be ceasing production of the RS4 in the near future, is likely to have been greatly exaggerated. Audi’s Media Relations and Motorsport Specialist Patrick Hespen has revealed to Winding Road that the claims are untrue and that the RS4 will continue well into 2008.

Original: Audi’s V8-powered RS4 saloon may already be out of production to make way for the RS6, which is expected to hit Frankfurt auto show in September. The RS4 has been widely regarded as one of the best Audi sports cars ever made and even managed to beat the old M3 in most back-to-back comparison tests.

With the new M3 coupe on the way and a saloon version also in late stages of testing, this is a strange time for Audi to end production for the RS4. According to the report by UK’s Autocar, the Avant and cabrio models will remain in production, but there’s no word on how long before these models also get canned.

The decision that the RS4 could cannabalise sales of a RS6 seems iffy, not least because of the massive price gap that should separate the two models.