War Wagons 20 YEARS OF RS 6

FOUR GENERATIONS OF RS6 COME TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE AUDI'S FASTEST FAMILY'S 20TH BIRTHDAY

- CAMERON KIRBY

Push the throttle into the firewall and there is a brief hesitation as a pair of turbos spool up. I brace myself against the sculpted leather seats just as the boost kicks in, preparing myself to manhandle an manic rush of physics. That moment never comes. Instead, all four Bridgestone tyres grip up, and the Daytona Grey wagon – a dour silhouette that belies its mechanical potential – rides a sizeable wave of torque from 1950rpm toward redline, slotting another gear and reaching triple digits in well under five seconds. Oh, did I mention this is a car from 2002? The C5 RS6 is a young timer that can punch with the best of its modern equivalents.

Two decades after its release, the C5 RS6’s performance potential hasn’t been trivialised by the passing of time. Even now, in an era of 500kW-plus weaponry, the original RS6 feels as potent and special as it did when it was revealed to the world at the Geneva International Motor Show at the turn of the century, becoming at the time Audi’s most powerful model to date. The grey tarmac beneath the treads is the Icefield Parkway, one of North America’s most scenic routes that winds its way along the Bow River through the towering vistas of the Canadian Rockies. For today, this is the playground within which we will deploy the C5 RS6, with its three subsequent generations along for the ride to celebrate 20 years of Audi’s iconic nameplate. As far as birthday celebrations go, we were more than happy to take up the invite.