| First Drive | Paul Ricard, France | Audi RS6 Avant |
During the presentation for the new RS6, Audi flashed up images of its previous RS models. The original madcap Avant, the RS2, came with 310bhp, which was considered to be a loony amount of power in 1994. Back then had someone said that only 14 years later Audi would be offering a production estate with 572bhp there'd have been hoots of laughter. But that's exactly what Audi is doing, the new RS6 Avant able to boast such a crazy output. To achieve it Audi has taken the V10 from the already
very rapid S6 and bolted on a pair of turbochargers. One blower per cylinder bank immediately turns the RS6 into the most powerful production estate car you can currently buy.
That headline 572bhp is a not insignificant 72bhp more than
BMW's M5 Touring and 65bhp more than AMG's E63. It allows the RS6 to sprint to 62mph in just 4.6 seconds and were it not for the electronic limiter coming into play at 155mph it's likely this super-estate would breach 200mph. If autobahn-storming is what you've got planed for your RS6, then Audi quietly tells us it'll 're-restrict' the electronics to 174mph. That might sound insane, but outwardly the RS6 shows Audi's typical restraint. There are the usual hints to suggest the RS6's potency, such as the deeper front and rear bumpers, two huge tailpipes and blistered wheel-arches underlining to those in the know that this is no ordinary A6 Avant. If those features escape you, then the noise emanating from under the bonnet and from those tailpipes will leave you in no doubt.
The 5.0-litre V10 twin-turbo engine obviously dominates the RS6 driving experience. Not just for its potency, but dynamically too. Push the RS6 too hard into a corner and the nose pushes wide. That is hardly surprising, as when you open the bonnet most of the V10's cylinders are forward of the front wheels. Judge corner entry speeds a little bit more conservatively and the RS6 feels more neutral, the torque split of the quattro drivetrain putting 60% to the rear axle and 40% to the front. It's not a car that's at home on the track where we had our first steer; its M5 and E63 rivals would feel more natural, less prone to understeer and ultimately, more fun.
But the RS6 and its rivals will be driven predominantly on the road, and that's where the RS6 really delivers. With quattro four-wheel drive it offers traction where rivals would struggle with spinning wheels and hyperactive electronics trying to sort everything out. Audi's three-stage shock absorbers give the RS6 driver the choice of three settings, Comfort mode actually delivering what its name suggests, Dynamic offering a decent compromise if you're on mixed roads and Sport adding focus when you want it. The steering is weighty and direct, though the steering wheel's chunky rim isn't overloaded with information as to what the front wheels are doing.
The brakes offer phenomenal stopping performance, and if the standard steel discs aren't to your liking Audi will happily sell you a set of optional ceramic brakes, which save 12.2kg over the standard discs. They only fit behind the 20-inch alloy wheels that are optional in other countries, UK buyers getting the larger wheels as standard equipment. Inside the RS6 is just like every other Audi, the fit and finish exceptional, the RS6 gaining some interior flash with RS6 specific trim and deeper sports seats.
Aside from those seats and RS6 details you really could be in any A6 Avant. There's comfortable space for four adults and the boot has all the space you could ever need. But brush the accelerator and you're quickly reminded about the RS6's prodigious grunt. It's not just the engine's mighty power figure that impresses; the torque the turbocharged V10 delivers is similarly astounding. Peak torque of 479lb.ft is delivered from 1,500rpm right up to 6,250rpm, meaning the RS6 offers any gear, any speed immediacy.
If there's a weak link in the performance it's the six-speed automatic. It's sometimes flustered if you ask a lot from it and occasionally reluctant to downshift when using the paddles. It's also easy to find yourself bouncing off the rev-limiter as the V10 spins up so quickly the gearbox seems to struggle to keep up with your digits' input from the wheel-mounted paddle shifters. It's not the smoothest shifter either, though it's preferable to the paddle-shift manual of BMW's M5.
The Audi RS6 Avant works incredibly well as a comfortable, fast cruiser with enough ability to excite enormously when the mood takes you. Its cross-country pace is extraordinary, the RS6's overtaking ability sensational. But it's just not as involving as its German rivals, which deliver more as drivers' cars despite their shortfall in power to the RS6's massive 572bhp. It's that which makes the £77,625 Audi is asking for the RS6 difficult to stomach. Consider too that Audi's own S6, with a non-turbocharged V10, offers 429bhp and the ability to reach 62mph in 5.3 seconds for a whopping £20,000 less and the RS6 makes even less sense. However, that's not the point; the RS6 is a towering achievement, even if it's a little bit pointless.
