Road Test
Audi RS6 Avant
Test date 27 May 2008
Price as tested £76,085
For Ridiculous pace, supple ride, pumped-up looks, classy cabin, bags of grip
AgainstExorbitant weight, high-speed understeer, heavy thirst, high price
The original RS was the 1993 RS2, its turbocharged five-cylinder engine producing 311bhp and driven through a quattro driveline. The RS4 came along in 2000, available in Avant form only, with 375bhp from a twin-turbo 2.7-litre V6.
Next was the first RS6, as both a saloon and estate, again with twin turbos but attached to a 4.2-litre V8. Power grew from 444bhp for the standard model to 473bhp for the run-out RS6 Plus. Most recently was the Mk2 RS4, with a naturally aspirated direct-injection 4.2-litre V8 with 414bhp.
Audi’s original concept, which surmised that enthusiasts need not forego driving thrills the moment their lives demand a more practical vehicle than a 2+2, spawned all these models and has proven sound.
And now we have the second-generation RS6 to consider, with a power output no longer on par with a Carrera, but eclipsing any current production 911, GT2 included.
From a twin-turbo 5.0-litre V10 comes 572bhp and 480lb ft – more than a Lamborghini Gallardo. But do such ridiculous outputs and a 2.2-tonne kerb weight stretch the fast estate concept beyond the realms of acceptability and usability, or are we looking at something altogether new: the first super-estate?
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