Fans of fast wagons, brace yourselves. The Audi RS6 Avant GT could be a new classic of the genre. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
When it comes to high-powered estate cars, or wagons as they’re internationally known, Audi is the king. It practically created the genre with the ’90s RS2, and although BMW has given the Ingolstadt marque a run for its money with the M3 Touring, this car would appear to be Audi saying, “hey, remember who’s boss”. So, here’s everything you need to know about the awesome new Audi RS6 Avant GT.
Aesthetic design
Before we get into the meat of the engineering behind it, I first want to talk about the way it looks. The regular RS6 Avant is a striking car to begin with, but this new motorsport-inspired livery and additional aesthetic touches really elevate it to a new level. Students of the racing world will immediately recognize this livery as an homage to the Audi 90 Quattro IMSA GTO racecar. In general, these colors were synonymous with Audi’s 20th Century motorsport exploits across the world, and they translate incredibly well onto the RS6 Avant’s silhouette. That said, if you’re boring, Audi will also sell you this car in either Nardo Grey or Mythos Black with matching dark and dreary rim colors.
Impressively, a group of twelve apprentices played a major role in designing the car’s emphatic new look, naturally with the support of Audi Design as well. The closer you look, the more aesthetic changes you’ll find though. Besides the obvious livery, this car wears a more aggressive face than the regular RS6 Avant, and a much-changed hood. In addition to the grooves, it is also constructed from carbon fiber – which, quite surprisingly, is a first for Audi Sport. To further increase the weight-saving, the car’s fenders are made from carbon fiber as well.
As for the wheels, these wonderfully retro six-spoke rims measure 22 inches in diameter, and hark back to old Audi rim styles of the past.
Aero touches
A lot of thought has gone into improving the RS6 Avant’s use of the air around it. For example, behind the wheels, air outlets help to minimize air pressure within the wheel arch, thus improving brake cooling.
At the back of the car, you’ll find a fully-functional diffuser and a motorsport-inspired double-decker rear wing. Such is the focus of this car, even the roof rails have been ditched in the quest for better aero – though I’m not sure if that’ll be a popular move with the regular wagon crowd.
Performance upgrades
Now for the bit you’ve been waiting for – the performance stats. Happily, this isn’t just some fancy-dress special edition. Some genuine engineering upgrades have gone into this masterpiece, not least under the hood. Audi has managed to squeeze an extra 30PS and 50 newton meters out of the car’s 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, taking its total outputs up to 621hp and 627lb ft of torque. In practice, that translates into a rapid 0-62mph time of just 3.3 seconds, and a top speed of 190mph. How’s that for the school run?
In addition to the extra grunt, the RS6 Avant GT also benefits from some handling revisions. The headline alteration is a specially-tuned rear-differential which, when put into ‘dynamic’ mode, gives the car more of a rear bias and in theory better agility. The GT also sits 10mm lower than a regular Avant, and gets a higher spring rate, triple-adjustable dampers, 30% stiffer stabilizers at the front and 80% stiffer stabilizers at the rear. All in all, the Audi RS6 Avant GT should feel tremendously planted.
Availability & Cost
Now, here’s the kicker. A car this special was never likely to make mass production, and sadly that’s what we’re dealing with here. Only 660 examples are slated for construction, and due to the expected demand, pricing starts at a whopping 219,355 euros. At the time of writing, that’s $235,411.79 USD or £187,307.23!
So, Audi has shown that it’s still the king of fast wagons, but its greatest hit will come with a serious cost attached. Oh well, I guess there’s always the regular Audi RS6 Avant to turn to. I’d have one of those over an M3 Touring any day of the week. However, the boys from Bavaria are set to strike back later this year with the return of the M5 Touring, and I think I can speak for all of us when I say I’m *very* intrigued.
In the meantime, here’s what Matt thought of the RS6 Avant’s little brother, the RS4:
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