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View Full Version : Nice article about RS6



Erik
December 11th, 2002, 12:40
RS6 in Yahoo, by Graham Whyte (http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/021106/4/1g8yw.html)

Despite being dogged by stiff competition from the gateau-munchers, Audi has managed to remain one step ahead with its iconic and eponymous Avants. Cleanly styled, muscular and utterly German, the hottest A4 and A6 Avants have acquired status as well as serious horsepower, leaving Volvo to play catch-up with the new V70R and BMW simply to look dated and a little out of touch.

The crown prince of Audi's two-box dynasty is the awesome RS6. With twin intercooled turbochargers pumping up the volumetric efficiency, the V8 engine develops 450 bhp and enough torque to impress the captain of the Wapping Tarradiddle, the Trinity House tug that once berthed just below London Bridge. Even more impressive is the way in which the peak torque of 560 Nm is spread across virtually the entire engine speed range, from 1950 right up to 5600 rpm.

With so much torque on tap, a five-speed 'box is sufficient. Audi have adapted their standard Tiptronic unit to suit the RS6 and have optimised the intermediate ratios for gut-wrenching take-offs. Under rigorous test conditions, just 4.7 seconds are sufficient for the Avant or saloon version to reach 62 mph, using, I imagine, the 'manual' side of the hybrid 'box. In the real world, where such figures are a shade theoretical, there is little discernable difference between flicking the stick and leaving the 'S' setting (one click on from 'D' on the auto side) to do all the cog-swapping. When conditions permit, the RS6 Avant will pass 124 mph (200 kph) in 17.8 seconds on its way to a regulated maximum of 155 mph. Stopping in a hurry is accomplished by huge ventilated discs, which in the front are convincingly gripped by 8-pot calipers.


What the figures cannot convey is the extraordinary noise of the biturbo engine. Had Wagner been engaged to pen the sound signature it could not have been more impressive. Equally impressive, scary even, is the way in which the V8 guzzles desert juice when you seriously nail it. According to the instantaneous fuel-consumption read-out included in the on-board computer, the car drinks a whole gallon every six miles. Of course, that is under maximum acceleration; on a round-trip to the Motor Show from Surrey, using a mix of rural lanes, arterial roads and motorways, I managed an average of 19.9 mpg, without sparing the horses.


Officially, the combined fuel consumption is 19.3 mpg, an amalgam of 13.0 and 27.2 mpg on the urban and extra-urban cycles, respectively. RS6 drivers are required to have no social conscience whatsoever as the CO2 mass emission measured on the combined cycle is 350 g/km, which is equivalent to the weight of a bag of sugar being pumped out every 1.8 miles or so.


But there is a far more evocative way of expressing both the performance and the relative value of the RS6. Consider a number of high-performance cars and how many BHP you get for every £1,000 of the purchase price. In that context, the 4WD RS6 is second only to the new 2WD Jaguar S-Type R in value. At 7.8 BHP per £1,000, the £58,800 RS6 Avant looks a snip compared to the 5.2 BHP of the 4WD Porsche Carrera 4 and near enough three times the value of the 2WD Bentley Arnage T, which delivers just 2.7BHP for every grand of its asking price.


Another way of looking at the RS6 value-for-money proposition is in terms of power-to-weight ratio, expressed in BHP per ton. In a supercar line-up comprising Ferrari, BMW, Jaguar and Porsche, at 253 bhp/ton, the Audi is bettered only by the Ferrari 360 Modena. The Carrera 4 manages only 219bhp/ton, scarcely more than the featherlight Lotus Elise 111.


Yet however you stack up the comparative figures there is no way of quantifying the relative emotional dividends. Each delivers its own kind of experience and the Audi's is arguably unique.


Immense power tamed by the latest Dynamic Ride Control system, coupled to the legendary quattro four-wheel drive, places the RS6 at the pinnacle of performance motoring. You would have to drive like a complete plank to edge beyond its broad and tolerant handling envelope, despite it having the ability to scorch away from all but the hottest Porsches. But if all you want to do is glide about the place in the manner of a fat cat at his leisure, the RS6 will waft with the best. DRC responds to lateral and linear acceleration and if neither is present to any degree, the ride-quality is not compromised by excessive damping. Add to these things a luxury, high-grade interior that will swallow a demi-Transit-load and you have the best of several worlds.

The standard specification combines satellite navigation with the usual 'phone (an extra £400) and audio functions along with a TV, all hooked up to a top-class BOSE sound system. Also on an extensive menu of high-status goodies are such things as his 'n' hers climate control; front and rear acoustic parking sensors; Valcona leather seats including a pair of Recaros in the front; heated seats all round; a Thatcham 1-approved miscreant repellent with ultrasonic protection; all-seeing Xenon-plus headlights; 19-inch alloys and cruise control. Apart from the 'phone preparation the only other extras bolted to the test car were an electric tilt-and-slide sunroof (£1,445) and auto-dipping, folding door mirrors (£240).


Despite the obvious complexity of the car and its thousand-and-one gizmos, the controls packed into the centre stack remain neat, logical and workmanlike. Function is not subservient to form and the whole layout can be readily assimilated within minutes of the first drive. I suppose you might call it goon-proof.


Being an Audi, active and passive safety is high on the agenda. Along with possessing all the dynamic supervisory devices in the known world, the car protects its occupants with front and side airbags and the company's Sideguard curtain airbag system.


Aerodynamic downforce is a tricky commodity that varies with the square of the difference in speed and also shifts about in a random fashion, and can even creep under the car with devastating effect. Consequently the discreet styling of the RS6 Avant is craftily integrated with various 'negative lift' devices, whose sole purpose is to keep its large rubber boots planted to the tarmac. Anoraks will spot them; others might recognise only the broad wheels that fill the blistered wheel arches and the soon-to-be-coveted RS6 badges that serve to distinguish the haves from the have-nots.


With the motor industry spending billions of dollars researching and developing the technology to support sustainable mobility, some are already asking why they continue to market high-powered supercars when what the world needs now is a quart of miles for a pint of petrol. Indeed some go so far as to hope that when tough, new emission regulations take effect in 2008, the axe of retributive legislation will fall swiftly upon the gas-guzzling necks of the self-indulgent. For sure, the tide one day will turn, but in the meantime all who can afford it should jump aboard the flagship RS6 for the trip of a lifetime.

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