Filed under: Performance, Wagon, Europe, Audi, First Drives

Latest, Greatest Autobahn Bomber Will Not Be Denied - Except To Us



Back in 2008, I was fortunate enough to test the second-generation Audi RS6 Avant in southern France on the supremely well-sorted circuit at Le Castellet, a.k.a. Paul Ricard. I was thrown out there with the 572-horsepower bi-turbo 5.0-liter V10-equipped behemoth behind one of Audi's DTM pros and was convinced in short order that the flaming hippo in my hands was going to get the better of me on one or another of the track's tight esses. I made it out alive and invigorated, of course, but knew that that RS6 Avant was the heaviest that these thunderwagons should ever be allowed to get. At around 4,650 pounds with driver aboard, it was just way more lateral momentum at speed than any pilot needs on a track - or for that matter, on a favorite hot curving road.

Now it's time for the 2013 Audi RS6 Avant to lay us out with a flying scissor kick from the corner ropes. This version of the highway and byway marauder from Quattro GmbH is a decidedly greater piece of work than was the car I drove in 2008. This time, there will only be the Avant body configuration - no RS6 sedan - and, as with the previous generation, North America won't be at the receiving end when deliveries start at the end of July this year.

I can only whine loudly about what a pity that is; the new RS6 Avant with its 4.0-liter bi-turbo V8 is the absolute best Audi RS model I have tested in over a decade. It weighs in 220 pounds less than its predecessor, loses 20 horsepower, gains 37 pound-feet of torque, and torches the previous car's acceleration time to 60 miles per hour by seven-tenths of a second, or in other words, it needs only 3.8 seconds. That's seriously hair-brained action in a family-car wrapper. There are a few reasons as to why it's that much quicker, but one key is the greater 17.4 psi of boost pressure from each turbocharger versus the 10.2 psi per unit on the last generation's spec sheet. Then there are the tighter ratios of the eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox against the six-speed Tiptronic of 2008.Continue reading 2013 Audi RS6 Avant [w/video]

2013 Audi RS6 Avant [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



Permalink | Email this | Comments

More...

 

Of course we Yanks don't get this. Hell, we don't even rate the A4 Avant any more, and we lost the regular A6 Avant a few years back. I am going to keep the best car I have ever owned, B5 platform Passat wagon, as long as I can.