Charting 20 years of the ultra-fast Audi wagons in the 591-hp RS 6 Avant
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A fast Audi wagon is not a variant, it is the soul of the breed. Unlike Mercedes’ AMG and BMW’s M, Audi Sport’s ‘RS’ badge was first found on a hatch, and it will likely always be on one. Not that Audi doesn’t build more emotion-stirring fare like the mid-engined R8, but the company’s flagship model will always be a practical wagon with plenty of cargo space for your luggage — and enough accelerative power to compress your carefully packed socks and underwear like a neutron star.
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And finally, finally, Audi’s letting us at the good stuff. Launched for the 2021 model year, the RS 6 Avant is this year celebrating twenty years of being just the biggest enthusiast-car tease on the planet. You’d see these overpowered estate cars in European magazines or when on holiday, blitzing down the unrestricted autobahn with as much horsepower as your average Lamborghini and a useful tow bar.
The new one’s a 591 hp monster, with a twin-turbocharged wave of torque that flings the driver towards the horizon in an unrelenting surge. At the same time, it is the most discrete and clearly differentiated RS 6 that Audi has yet built. This is no rocket booster strapped to an A6 Avant, but something completely different, carefully tweaked using the lessons learned in building four generations of RS 6 Avant. It’s also unlike the competition — not that there’s much competition — being relatively drama-free while still carrying a distinct personality.
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With the C8 generation of RS 6 Avant, Audi has built its best fast wagon yet. It did so by listening to its customer base, rather than benchmarking rivals. In the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, a multi-generation wagon train of fast Audis tells the story. We had to wait, but it was worth it.
Early days of RS: Two, Four, Six, and a boosted ‘8
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Static photo Misano red (since 2019), Inuit white (2008 - 2011), Sedan Nimbus grey (2008 - 2011), Daytona grey (2002 - 2004) Photo by Audi
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Daytonagrau (2002 - 2004) , Misanorot (2013 - 2018), Daytonagrau (seit 2019), Inuitweiß (2008 - 2011), Limousine Nimbusgrau (2008 - 2011) Photo by Audi
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Daytonagrau (2002 - 2004) , Misanorot (2013 - 2018), Daytonagrau (seit 2019), Inuitweiß (2008 - 2011), Limousine Nimbusgrau (2008 - 2011) Photo by Audi
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Daytonagrau (2002 - 2004) , Misanorot (2013 - 2018), Daytonagrau (seit 2019), Inuitweiß (2008 - 2011), Limousine Nimbusgrau (2008 - 2011) Photo by Audi
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The very first Audi RS (Renn Sport, literally “Racing Sport”) model was the RS 2, co-developed with Porsche. At the time, Porsche had the go-to expertise on turbocharging, and the company was winding down production of the 500E, which it was building under a contract with Mercedes. Made in 1994 and 1995, the RS 2 was small, nimble, and had a dose of Audi rally-car heritage about it.
Porsche got a healthy 310 hp out of the RS 2’s 2.2L five-cylinder engine, which combined with Audi’s all-wheel-drive to make the RS 2 unbeatably quick off the line. Because of the Porsche connection, these cars have become very collectible, and prices have spiked sharply.
With the followup RS 4 Avant in 1999, Audi Sport moved development in-house. This time, power was a twin-turbocharged V6, similar to that found in the Audi S4 sold in Canada at the time. However, the RS 4 had over a 100 hp more than the version we got, as well as upgraded brakes, suspension, and a wider body.
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Things really came to a head with the first RS 6. About 90 of these were sold in Canada in the sedan version in 2004, making them equally as rare as the original Canadian-spec Ur-Quattro. Unlike the RS 2 and RS 4, the RS 6 wasn’t intended to be a rally-infused machine, nor a sporty wagon. With a twin-turbocharged 4.2L V8, it was an absolute freight-train.
A wolf in wagon’s clothing
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The RS 6 was first made available as a wagon, debuting at the Geneva Auto Show in the spring of 2002. This was a strong moment for subtle German engineering, with the V8-powered E39 M5 still considered one of the high points of the breed and the brutish AMG E55 sedan soon on the way.
Audi’s take on the executive express was even more wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing. A partially assembled standard A6 Avant was taken from the production line, and the incomplete cars were sent to the quattro Gmbh factory to be fitted with specially designed engine and aerodynamic parts.
The specs are impressive even today. That twin-turbocharged V8 is good for roughly 450 hp, but the real story is the torque curve — or rather, a torque mesa. Full boost comes on by 1,950 rpm and holds until 5,600 rpm, putting 428 lb-ft of torque through a six-speed automatic transmission to all four wheels.
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The power is sufficient to give the speedometer needle the sweep time of a stopwatch second hand. There’s none of the rush to redline of a contemporary BMW or AMG hot-rod bellowing — the RS 6 Avant just plants and goes, with near-unlimited passing power under your foot.
Thanks to Canada’s fifteen-year grey market, this generation of RS 6 Avant is now importable from Europe or Japan (Japanese-market RS models from this time are still all left-hand-drive). It’s an enormously complex car, so you need to have an Audi expert at close hand, but it still feels as fast now as it did then.
Ten cylinders and all of the torques
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As mentioned, the first salvo of the RS 6 was all about that low-end shove. Really, the only rival to the car was the likes of specialist manufacturer Alpina, which also built cars that felt like they were bred for running the unrestricted autobahn at above 200 km/h, totally unperturbed.
As a followup, Audi Sport went completely insane. Thanks to Audi’s development of the ‘baby Lamborghini’ Gallardo, engineers now had access to a new V10 engine. They did what any sensible enthusiast would: stuffed it in a nondescript wagon and twin-turbocharged it.
The second-generation RS 6 Avant is both the most discreet version and also the most bonkers. With 570 hp out of 5.0L, it was the most powerful Audi at the time — and more powerful than any road-going Gallardo — and still boasts the largest engine fitted to an RS car.
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By “fitted” you can read ‘squeezed into.’ All RS engine bays are crowded by the piping required for twin-turbocharging, but the V10-engined car is an exceptionally tight fit. Audi Sport’s engineers like to joke that you can pour a glass of water into the open hood and none will leak out onto the tarmac below.
This much engine up front made the car quite nose-heavy, so it is not the RS 6 for windy roads. In terms of power delivery, however, it outclasses its ancestor by an additional hundred horsepower, warping off into the distance on the straightaways. Yet, especially in white, it is utterly unremarkable to look at.
The 305 km/h tow bar problem
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Seeking to bring a little poise back to the RS 6, Audi declared V10 power a single-generation experiment and returned the model to V8 power. Output was slightly down, but performance improved thanks to a new eight-speed transmission.
Canadian Audi fans got a taste of at least the powertrain in this new model thanks to the RS7 liftback. Interest was piqued, but there would be no Avant on this side of the water — at least not yet.
Meantime, Audi Sport was dealing with customer feedback on its packaging. RS 6 Avant customers were highly loyal and loved the blend of performance and practicality. But in designing this generation of RS 6, some options clashed. If you wanted adaptive suspension and its higher top speed of 305 km/h, you had to forgo putting the optional tow back package in — it would only fit on the air-suspension car, which was limited to 280km/h.
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This seems like a crazy problem to have, but roughly half of all RS 6 Avants are fitted with the tow bar package to carry bikes and the like — and you don’t buy an RS 6 to have the slower version. For the next version, Audi would have the solution ready.
The wagon stands alone
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Today, you can have your towbar and still hit a top speed of 305 km/h. Audi engineers gently suggest removing the trailer first.
In terms of Swiss-army-knife do-everythingness, the current RS 6 is an unbeatable package. It’s no longer a wolf in sheep’s clothing, more a wolf in a shirt that says, ‘A wolf? I haven’t seen any wolves lately. Don’t ask me any more questions.’ But pick the exterior options right and forego the brushed aluminum trim, and it’s still subtle enough to whisper where other marques shout.
The performance is much the same. The BMW M5 is a sort of track-ready intercontinental ballistic missile, loud and drifty. The Mercedes-AMG E63 wagon lifts its nose on acceleration and bellows like an angry dinosaur, all Swabian hot-rod.
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The RS 6 just grips and goes. If anything, you hear a bit less of the hissing boost in the cabin than with the older cars. It’s not drama, it’s just power and speed — the kind made for either sustained autobahn velocities or warping past a tractor-trailer in a short passing zone.
The people who buy these tend to have a second car for track duties, so the road-going focus makes sense here. With rear-wheel steering, the RS 6 is very stable at speed, but also more maneuverable in a parking lot. The trunk is still huge, it’s comfortable and luxurious, and it delivers organ-rearranging acceleration with minimal fuss and drama.
In short, the current RS 6 Avant is the same as all the others that went before, just with one big change: it is still very very fast; it is still very practical; but now, for the first time, it’s here.
Evolutionary: 2022 Audi RS 6 Avant and the enduring legacy of fast Audi wagons - Driving
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