First Drive Review
In Europe, excessive displays of power and wealth are considered to be in poor taste. It’s why the luxury-car segment has been in decline there for years, and why high-performance sports cars remain a rare sight as well. But that doesn’t mean that Europe's wealthy are practicing ascetics. They just prefer their finery to lack flash. And nothing facilitates this philosophy more than a high-powered station wagon.
Witness this RS6 Avant, powered by a 553-hp, twin-turbo V-8. Car agnostics and busybody neighbors won’t know what you’re packing in your A6 Avant, a wagon usually fitted with a more pedestrian four- or six-banger. The initiated, however, will recognize the RS treatment, which includes wider rear fenders, broad front air intakes, darker head- and taillight reflectors, and—this is important—two large oval exhaust pipes.
Audi is actually using the RS6 Avant to experiment with its overall design language. Thanks to a new rear bumper, the "overbite" of the A6 taillights is gone. And up front, when either of the optional carbon-fiber or aluminum packages is ordered, the bottom portion of the RS6’s large grille is emblazoned with large-type “Quattro” lettering in a framed insert.
Flash to Pass
The translation for "Quattro," in this case, is "move over." As with the previous-generation RS6 Avant, which packed an oh-no-you-didn’t 580-hp, twin-turbo 5.0-liter V-10 adopted from the Lamborghini Gallardo, the current RS6's 553-hp, twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 produces vicious acceleration at virtually any engine speed, as well as a lusty and aggressive exhaust roar. Even when cruising at or well above triple-digit speeds on the autobahn, a stab of the throttle catapults the 4500-pound wagon forward. Keep your foot in it, and the rush of acceleration doesn’t let up until you’ve maxed out at 155, 174, or a lofty 190 mph, your limit dependent on which governor setting you selected from the extensive RS6 option list. We’re told the wagon has a theoretical unchecked top speed of more than 200 mph.
The 553-hp 4.0-liter V-8 under the hood is not a unique piece; it is a variation of the same unit found in the S6, the S8, and the Bentley Continental V-8. Its massive 516 lb-ft of torque renders Audi's own seven-speed dual-clutch automatic unusable. To feed the torque to all four wheels, Audi relies on a remarkably quick-shifting, ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic. Thanks to the smaller displacement, cylinder deactivation, and an engine stop-start system, the RS6 Avant is rated at 24 mpg in the notoriously optimistic European cycle. When pushing hard, however, the reality is less than half of that mileage.
The chassis is engineered to match the powertrain's performance. Though less powerful than its Lambo-powered predecessor, the new RS6 Avant is less nose-heavy and 220 pounds lighter overall. The latest car can be fitted with 20- or 21-inch wheels, carbon-ceramic brakes, and a sports differential that distributes the torque between the rear wheels to help mitigate understeer. The standard torque split favors the rear, 60 percent to 40, although the ratio is variable according to available traction. As a result, this superwagon is more willing to dive for apexes than ever before, and it is easy to rotate the car with the throttle if so desired.
But station wagons are about practicality, as well. Comfortably equipped and endowed with a large and highly configurable cargo area, the RS6 can do double duty as a family car. Seemingly modest Europeans will be thrilled, as they get to keep the RS6 for themselves—it won’t be coming here. But U.S. buyers will soon get to sample—and flaunt—its hardware in the handsome RS7.
