Discovering the Audi RS 6 Avant

A few weeks before its marketing, we were able to approach the latest creation of Audi Sport: the RS 6 Avant. We tell you everything!

Breaks are cool. Sports breaks are even cooler. So when Audi contacted me to go and discover the latest RS 6 Avant, I admit that I did not hesitate for long - and too bad if it was only a static discovery. It was in an industrial atmosphere that I was able to discover the famous sports station wagon in two versions, a Black Sebring and a Gray Daytona.

What about the outside? Not much, except that it really beats up. Compared to a “normal” A6 Avant, the RS 6 widens by 80 mm (!!) and reduces its ground clearance by 20 mm. More posed, wider, the result is impressive. Especially since, with the exception of the front doors, roof and tailgate, all body parts are dedicated to the wild station wagon. Even the front optics, taken from the A7, are specific! Suddenly, it's hard to miss out on an RS 6. Although I'm not very fond of sports packs like S / N / M / RS Sport Line Machin Truc, I must admit that I am totally under the spell of the Audi. The RS 6 gives off a crazy charisma, a totally uninhibited aggressiveness, an incredible magnetism. I love.

I will be a little more succinct about the interior, the differences compared to a “normal” A6 being clearly less numerous. The dashboard with multiple screens is present, the five seats too, the Isofix bindings answer the call, the 565-liter trunk opens its arms wide to you. You have to bend down to see the differences: the perforated steering wheel with a large flat surface, the sport seats with specific embossing and patterns, the exclusive displays of the Virtual Cockpit and… that's about it. All that remains is a serious, almost cold atmosphere; enough to concentrate fully on driving.

Because we will have to concentrate. On the road, of course, but also concerning the following paragraph. Hang in there, we're opening the hood! It is a proud V8 4.0 biturbo that welcomes us, obviously slipped into the shoehorn by the brand's engineers. Do you want numbers? You will have some. The V8, therefore, develops 600 hp; its 800 Nm of torque are developed over a respectable range of 2100 to 4500 rpm. Thus equipped, the RS 6 Avant goes from 0 to 100 km / h in 3.6 seconds, and will cross 200 km / h 8.4 seconds later. The maximum speed, electronically limited to 250 km / h, can be raised to 280 or even 305 km / h against a small check.

I can hear you from here asking yourself “but how did they manage to approve such a mess?”. The answer ? Hybridization. Because yes, the Audi RS 6 Avant is a hybrid. But light hybrid (MHEV category for connoisseurs) eh, we're not going to laugh too much either. In detail, a 48 V electrical system, a small lithium-ion battery and an alternator-starter take care of recovering energy during deceleration in order to be able to shut down the engine as soon as the Audi goes below 22 km / h. Second benefit: a freewheel mode is activated when the driver eases the foot between 55 and 160 km / h. A cylinder deactivation system also cuts off half of them during low load phases. Despite all these constraints, the press release is formal:

So you will have understood: an Audi RS 6 Avant has a big, frightfully sophisticated engine. But the sophistication doesn't stop here, oh gods no. The whole ground connection part also sticks to it! Let's start with the inevitable quattro all-wheel drive with mechanical central differential which, if it can shift the torque from a 40/60 ratio (front / rear axle) in normal times, can transfer it up to 70% on the front or 85% on the back. A torque transfer system on each of the wheels is also standard.

And the suspensions? They are not left out. Two systems are available: a standard pneumatic version, significantly reworked to reach the famous 305 km / h mentioned above; it is also capable of lowering by 10 mm beyond 120 km / h or, on the contrary, of raising the body by 20 mm at low speed, thus sparing the pretty skirts of the ugly backs of donkeys. The second system, optional, uses the good old couple spring / shock absorber as well as an ingenious system of two circuits of oil connecting the wheels diagonally, allowing to reduce the body roll in bends. Finally, let's talk about the 20 ″ wheels as standard and 22 ″ (!!) optional: the four-wheel steering is obviously present ... in the options catalog,

Did all of this make you want? Then all you have to do is take out a check for a minimum of € 129,150, not including the inevitable € 20,000 supermalus. The RS 6 Avant will be available very soon in French dealerships and, good news for our North American readers, in the United States and in Canada! As for us, we can't wait to get behind the wheel. We promise, we'll tell you ????