Another big fast Audi on another fast lap of the Ring?
Very good. Audi is taking fast estates to an unprecedented level with its new RS6 Avant – caught here undergoing chassis and engine development around the Nürburgring. Unprecedented? Well, we can’t think of any other manufacturer that’s shoehorned a direct injection twin-turbo 5.2-litre V10 under the bonnet of one of its cars. Our sources claim the all-alloy powerplant has been tuned to deliver at least 530bhp – a numeric victory over the 487bhp BMW M5 Touring and 514bhp Mercedes E63 estate. That power figure may steal the headlines, but it’s the 500lb ft of torque that will make the RS6 such an eyeball flattener. Expect the Avant to hit 60mph in 4.5seconds and hit its 155mph limiter before it has even got into its stride.
Should I remortgage the house?
Developed from the ground-up by Quattro, Audi’s formidably talented group of go-fast engineers, the RS6 should cost £67,000. Depending on how you look at the RS6, that’s an awful lot of wedge for a family estate, but an absolute bargain for a supercar slayer. And if the brilliant RS4 is an accurate barometer, the RS6 should be a cracking steer. We expect Audi to pull the wraps off both RS6 saloon and estate for a double-whammy at the upcoming Frankfurt motor show – an overt display of power to keep its nose ahead of national rivals BMW and Mercedes in the horsepower race.
Not sure about that two-tone paint job, mind you…
That odd harlequin camouflage is pretty effective at masking the Avant’s lines, but there’s no disguising it’s hugely flared wheelarches that eat into the door frames, the slammed ride height and widened front and rear tracks. Nor can it hide the estate’s bespoke ground-effects rear diffuser, lower and larger front splitter and side skirts. Like the RS4, the RS6 will feature a rear-biased version of Audi’s hallmark quattro all-paw drivetrain, complemented by a heavily revised steering and carbon ceramic brake discs. The RS6 will also be kitted out with a more sophisticated version of the TT’s magnetic ride system. The magneto-rheological fluid filled dampers will be tuned for the RS6’s additional weight and performance, with a choice of ride levels.