Audi RS6 Avant: The Super Estate Returns

The RS6 Avant has become a bit of an icon and Audi seem to be aware of that

Audi’s RS6 Avant has made a name for itself as a stylish and luxury estate car with supercar-levels of performance. Unlike the Mercedes-AMG E63 Estate or the BMW 5 Series Touring, the RS6 has been adopted by the supercar lovers, performance junkies and the car tuning community. Type the car into YouTube and you’ll quickly be able to see them lowered, blacked-out and tuned to something ridiculous like 740 hp.

The reputation of this German estate has transformed from ‘classy, luxurious estate that also happens to have a powerful engine’ to ‘an Audi R8 in estate car guise’. People that treat the RS6 Avant with the same respect of a supercar are completely right in doing so – they’re capable of doing 0-62 mph in just 3.9 seconds, have 553 bhp and certainly look and sound cool enough to turn heads. But that was the old one…

The new RS6 Avant has 591 hp and can do 0-124 mph in 12 seconds

Audi know if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The new Avant hasn’t changed too drastically from the last one but it’s improved in all the right areas. The horsepower has been increased from 553 to 591, the torque has increased from 700 Nm to 800 Nm and the 0-62 mph acceleration has improved from 3.9 seconds to 3.6 seconds.

Just like the previous generation, the new RS6 Avant is powered by a 4.0 TFSI twin-turbo V8, but unlike the old one, the Avant is now fitted with mild hybrid technology and is classed as an MHEV or mild hybrid electric vehicle.

If you hate everything about electric cars, don’t let this put you off because this car is still a ‘proper’ internal combustion engine car. All ‘mild hybrid’ means is that it’s fitted with a very small battery to store and release energy for improved fuel economy. The car will still sound amazing and you will still need plenty of trips to the fuel station, don’t you worry.

21-inch wheels, new lights and plenty of RS-exclusive parts

Starting with the front, the new RS6 Avant features an RS bumper, RS bonnet and those special Matrix LED laser headlights that have come from the A7 line. The lights have darkened trim, as does most of the car – you won’t find much chrome on this! The face of the car is incredibly angular and it is said that the designers have taken cues from the front of the Audi R8.

Moving to the side of the car, you may notice just how extraordinary the wheels look. You can’t help but fixate on them and that’s probably because they’re so ridiculously huge. 21 inches! They are cast aluminium and feature a 10-spoke star design and if you want to go even bigger, you can have 22-inch RS-exclusive wheels with a 5-V-spoke trapezoid design if you order the Vorsprung specification. These alloys are bigger than what you would find on a Lamborghini!

The wheels are housed by broad wheel arches which make the car 80mm wider in total, giving it that stance and planted look. At the back, there’s a small yet prominent spoiler and an RS bumper which features a diffuser and a new and very prominent M-shaped trim piece in a contrasting colour.

The people at Audi know exactly what they’re on to

Cleverly, Audi is finally offering the RS6 Avant in the US. Our friends across the pond will surely enjoy the massive power and tunability of the cult icon that is the RS6 Avant.

Oliver Hoffmann, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH:

“Throughout our 25-year RS history, the Audi RS6 Avant is one of our absolute icons with a large global fan base,”

“We will also be offering the RS6 Avant in North America for the very first time. As such, we will be tapping into a new market with huge potential and generating further growth.”

The new Audi RS6 Avant features permanent all-wheel-drive with the default ratio being a front-rear split of 40:60. However, when one wheel slips, drive torque is automatically redirected to wheels that have better traction. This dynamic and advanced kind of technology can be enjoyed with the new eight-speed Tiptronic gearbox with optimised shift times and a new Launch Control function! Sounds like a blast.

This fantastic super estate is available for order starting this November and deliveries are to be expected in January 2020.

Let us know what you think of the new RS6 Avant in the comments and be sure to subscribe to our e-newsletter below!