1-of-7: The Exclusive Audi RS 6 Avant GT Is the Rarest & Raddest Station Wagon
Brace yourself. There are seven — not seventy, not seven hundred — just seven of these limited-edition, hardcore Audi Who would ever want an SUV when you could have this as your family car? If you want to buy one of those seven, stop reading right now and get your Audi dealer on the horn.
And who wouldn’t want one? The Audi RS 6 Avant GT is the capital-A Awesome. It’s a rude hand gesture to the stuffy automotive establishment, and a rare flash of joyful enthusiasm in an industry that often takes itself way top seriously. It’s the rarest, raddest station wagon on the road, a high-performance family hauler to end all high-performance family haulers.
How Much Power Are We Talking Here?
In more practical terms, the Audi RS 6 Avant GT is a station wagon powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. The engine has been upgraded to churn out 621 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque. (For those keeping score, that’s more than you get in the base RS 6 and the same output as the RS 6 Performance.) It’ll scoot to 100 km/h in just over three seconds, but this is a machine for true enthusiasts; it’s not about straight-line speed.
What Else Is Special About the RS 6 Avant GT?
The Quattro sport differential has been tuned to send more power to the rear wheels, and for greater “agility” — which, translating from German engineer-speak — means drivers should expect more smokey, tail-out action. To slow it all down, ceramic brakes are standard.
For the first time on an Audi, three-way adjustable coilover suspension is fitted. (Read: racecar stuff.) To make adjustments, users will need a special tool kit included with the car and access to a vehicle hoist. The company does include a manual with suggested settings for compression and rebound to help you out. Alternatively, you could also just take it to your dealer to set up the car professionally for your family’s next track day.
Another first for Audi: the new hood and widebody front-fenders are made out of carbon-fibre. The roof rails have been removed for a sleeker look, and a large new double-layer spoiler hangs above the rear window. Down below, an imposing rear diffuser makes the car’s high-performance intentions clear. Up front, the singleframe grille has been enlarged, looking more menacing than ever. It’s the ultimate expression of Audi’s beloved RS 6 Avant, and perhaps the last pure combustion-powered RS 6 Avant. (Future models will almost surely be hybrids or full EVs.)
Final assembly is completed by hand, by just seven experienced employees at Audi’s elite Böllinger Höfe facility, where the R8 and RS e-tron GT are assembled.
An Homage to the Legendary Audi 90 IMSA GTO Racecars
Let’s talk about that livery. It’s impossible to miss. Elsewhere in the world, the GT will be available in a few other colours with more subdued liveries, but here in Canada and the U.S. it’s only being sold with the white, red, and black colour scheme you see here. The car is first painted Arkona White and then wrapped in the traditional colors of Audi Sport. Exclusive to this livery are a set of lovely white 22-inch wheels.
In the cabin, almost every surface — including the dash, door arm rests, centre console and central arm rest — is covered in Alcantara-like Dinamica fabric. Other countries get full carbon bucket seats, but sadly they’re not available in North America.
If this colour scheme looks familiar, it’s because it’s an homage to one of Audi’s greatest racing machines: the fearsome Audi 90 quattro IMSA GTO of the late ‘80s. It was a tube-framed silhouette racer made to look vaguely like the Audi 90 sedan. But, underneath, it was closely related to Walter Rohrl’s rally-championship winning Group-B quattro. The dinky 2.2-litre five-cylinder was turbocharged to produce over 700 horsepower, and the huge fire-breathing, bazooka-shaped, side-exit exhaust made sure you’d hear this thing coming.
The great Hans-Joachim Stuck was one of the (brave) men who drove the GTO in anger. “When we came to the States with this car,” Stuck told Top Gear, “nobody can believe what we can achieve… small engine, five cylinder, it’s a German saloon car! We could use a later braking point, and practically any line we wanted. When I cross the finish line, I started yodelling!”
More recently, in 2020, Audi teased us with the RS 6 GTO Concept. Its side-exist exhausts and turbofan wheels didn’t make it to the limited-edition RS 6 GT, but we can forgive that. We’re just glad this car exists.
A Very Limited Edition
“Last year, Audi Sport GmbH, formerly known as Quattro GmbH, celebrated its 40th anniversary. And for every anniversary you need a new gift. So, we thought ‘what would be the best gift for our customers?’” explained Rolf Michl, Managing Director Audi Sport GmbH. The RS 6 Avant GT was the answer.
A plaque on the centre console lists the car’s limited-edition status out of 660 units. Canada is getting just seven of them, so, like we said: if you want one, you’d better call your dealer ASAP.
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