Michaël Barbé
April 18th, 2008, 17:03
hope it's not a repost!
What is it?
Just how fast do you want your family Labrador to go? The answer it would seem, if you're Audi, is 200mph. That's the top speed of the German firm's new RS6 quattro Avant - or it would be without its top speed limiter in place. As it is, the RS6 is restricted to a 'mere' 155mph or, if your pockets are a little deeper, 175mph.
Those figures, along with the headline-grabbing 572bhp power output from the 5.0-litre, twin-turbo V10 engine, just underline the sheer craziness of the new RS6. In fact, the Top Trump-winning bullet-points come thick and fast before you've even turned a wheel - it's the most powerful estate car in the world, the most powerful Audi ever built and boasts an eye-watering £77,625 price tag.
That's a healthy premium over the previous RS6 which went out of production in 2005 (to make way for the RS4), but Audi says that price isn't a primary concern for its customers. Arrogant though that may seem, certainly the RS6's forward order list seems to support that argument - despite no customers having yet sat behind the wheel, if you ordered one today you'll be hanging your 2009 calendar on the wall before seeing an RS6 outside your house.
Even so, that's still a more substantial dent out of your bank balance than both the £67,725 BMW M5 Touring or the £69,097 Mercedes E63AMG Estate. The reality is that the RS6 is just as much a rival for these estates as the likes of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo and BMW X5 4.8. That's some talented competition and to succeed, the big Audi will not only need to drive and handle well, but also justify that price and its potential as an everyday supercar. All-rounders don't much better than this but at least the RS6 has an estate body rather that of a huge, public vitriol-inducing 4x4. A saloon version will join the range at the end of 2008, but 70 per cent of RS6 sales are expected to be the Avant.
Michaël Barbé
:rs6kiss:
What is it?
Just how fast do you want your family Labrador to go? The answer it would seem, if you're Audi, is 200mph. That's the top speed of the German firm's new RS6 quattro Avant - or it would be without its top speed limiter in place. As it is, the RS6 is restricted to a 'mere' 155mph or, if your pockets are a little deeper, 175mph.
Those figures, along with the headline-grabbing 572bhp power output from the 5.0-litre, twin-turbo V10 engine, just underline the sheer craziness of the new RS6. In fact, the Top Trump-winning bullet-points come thick and fast before you've even turned a wheel - it's the most powerful estate car in the world, the most powerful Audi ever built and boasts an eye-watering £77,625 price tag.
That's a healthy premium over the previous RS6 which went out of production in 2005 (to make way for the RS4), but Audi says that price isn't a primary concern for its customers. Arrogant though that may seem, certainly the RS6's forward order list seems to support that argument - despite no customers having yet sat behind the wheel, if you ordered one today you'll be hanging your 2009 calendar on the wall before seeing an RS6 outside your house.
Even so, that's still a more substantial dent out of your bank balance than both the £67,725 BMW M5 Touring or the £69,097 Mercedes E63AMG Estate. The reality is that the RS6 is just as much a rival for these estates as the likes of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo and BMW X5 4.8. That's some talented competition and to succeed, the big Audi will not only need to drive and handle well, but also justify that price and its potential as an everyday supercar. All-rounders don't much better than this but at least the RS6 has an estate body rather that of a huge, public vitriol-inducing 4x4. A saloon version will join the range at the end of 2008, but 70 per cent of RS6 sales are expected to be the Avant.
Michaël Barbé
:rs6kiss: