Audi Rs6

As a First Attempt at an Rs-themed A6, the C5 Rs6 Is a Bloody Good One. But Has Time Been Kind to the Twin-turbo, All-wheel Drive Hero?

AUDI’S RS6 ALL-WHEEL drive superstar expanded on the smaller RS4’s appeal by being available in both five-door estate (Avant) and four-door sedan guises. And with each one powered by a 4.2-litre twin-turbo V8 pushing out 331kW, the RS6 was a top driver’s car.

Combine all that power with the four-wheel drive grip of Audi’s legendary quattro set-up and you had a machine as capable on the twisties as it was in a straight line, with torque routed from the gearbox output shaft to the Torsen centre diff before being automatically divided and apportioned between the front and rear axles.

Although the RS6 isn’t all about performance and handling capability, sharp, well-weighted steering and impressively compliant ride quality are in there, too.

This is a highly usable, high-performance machine that doubles-up as a tame daily driver – of course, that’s if you can afford the fuel bills.

AUDI RS6

VITAL CHECKS

ENGINE 

If the 331kW output of the regular RS6 isn’t enough, you need to check out the limited-edition Plus model that arrived in 2004 (solely in Avant guise), which pushed power to 353kW (and top speed to 280km/h)thanks to an uprated ECU and modified intercoolers. But even a standard RS6 will take you to 100km/h in less than five seconds en route to an artificially limited 250km/h top speed.