Despite uncertainty over what the next Mercedes-AMG E 63 S wagon will be like, the era of the Überwagon rages on. A BMW M5 wagon is coming to America, the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo is now even quicker than before, and Audi has a new top-dog wagon of its own. With limited production, a host of heritage touches, and real upgrades aimed at improving handling, the Audi RS6 Avant GT is pretty neat as far as special editions go. However, it does have one thing working against it: a price tag north of $200,000.
Right off the bat, Audi got inspired by the Audi 90 Quattro IMSA GTO race car, a turn-of-the-’90s track-only weapon that captured hearts, if not quite the championship, in the 1989 IMSA GT season. As such, it features graphics inspired by the Audi of America racing team livery, flared fenders, larger air intakes in the front bumper, and a rear wing. I’m particularly fond of the 22-inch reinterpretation of the classic Avus six-spoke alloy wheels, another nod to heritage.
Under the hood of the Audi RS6 Avant GT, you’ll find a four-liter twin-turbocharged V8 making 621 horsepower and 627 lb.-ft. of torque. Hang on, that’s exactly what the RS6 Avant Performance makes. While not having to homologate another powertrain tune does reduce complexity on Audi’s end, it makes you wonder where the performance gains on this limited-production model actually come from.
Well, a carbon fiber hood, carbon fiber fenders, carbon ceramic brakes, and the absence of roof rails claim to shave around 88 pounds off the RS6 Avant GT, which Audi says reduces the zero-to-60 mph time by one-tenth of a second. Under the bodywork, triple-adjustable coilovers, stiffer anti-roll bars, and a retuned electronically controlled limited-slip differential are chiefly responsible for getting the RS6 Avant GT to attack corners.
For added specialness, each RS6 Avant GT gets pulled off the line in Neckarsulm and shipped to Audi’s special small-batch factory in Böllinger Höfe, where the suspension and various body parts are attached to the main body by hand. It’s the same facility that built the second-generation R8, a nifty little feather in this special edition model’s cap.
That’s all pretty cool, but the Audi RS6 Avant GT doesn’t just pull a premium over a regular RS6 Avant Performance — it pulls a brain-bending, depreciated supercar-buying premium over an RS6 Avant Performance. We’re talking about a base price of $200,195 for a premium of $72,300, and if you really like your Audis, you might want to see what you can buy for less than the $72,300 price delta.
Yep, that’s a gated manual Audi R8, one that sold on Cars & Bids for $60,069. While this particular 2009 model year example may have 83,000 miles on the clock, it still has an all-Audi V8 in the middle, and the garage addition of a gated manual sports car for the price of jumping up a trim level on a sports wagon is the sort of bad idea worth pursuing.
Alternatively, what if you went even older for a slice of Audi history? Perhaps something like this Euro-spec Ur-Quattro, which hammered for $44,536 on Bring A Trailer earlier this year. Sure, parts availability isn’t the most stellar, but we’re talking about a genuine icon here, the Audi that set the tone for all Audis going forward. Something with real motorsports heritage, a car that actually won the FIA World Rally Championship, all yours for less than the cost of upgrading from an RS6 Avant Performance to an RS6 Avant GT.
Don’t get me wrong, the RS6 Avant GT is cool, but it’s hard not to think about what else you could buy for the price jump over an RS6 Avant Performance. Still, if you already have a couple of R8s and a Quattro in the garage, this might be the new Audi for you. Only 85 are coming to America, so it might be a good idea to act quickly if you want one. Expect it to arrive just in time for the holidays.
(Photo credits: Audi, Cars & Bids, Bring A Trailer)
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I’m gonna be honest—what’s the point? I get that it’s a proof of concept of sorts, but at those prices no one is going to be using this wagon for wagon things, at which point it’s simply a more compromised supercar. I see that other people have pointed this out below, so it’s not just me. That said, these days ‘Avant’ is a bit of a subbrand for Audi as one of the few wagon manufacturers left, so I guess Audi wanted a flagship Avant of sorts.
At least I, a middle-class person, can take solace in the fact that, while I will never be able to afford one, at least it looks stupid with that ridiculous grille.
Curb weight…..
Huh I scored my TT RS for quite a bit less than that differential…
“the era of the Überwagon rages on.”
No it doesn’t.
These rich people toys have zero motorsports DNA, automatic transmissions, and fake bullshit vents all over them. Utter crap.
I can afford to pay fuck all on a car, so anything north of that is too expensive. This thing is awesome and I love that it exists, regardless of the cost.
And when we’re talking this kind of thing, do the people who buy them really care about money? I suspect not.
Honestly don’t care for the performance/GT trims of the RS6/7. Audi has never really been about being the most hardcore track weapon. That’s more BMW than Audi. I firmly believe the R8 deserves “supercar” status, but even that was meant to be a supercar you could daily or go anywhere in with some expectation of civility and comfort. That’s how Audi do.
The great thing about the RS models is they’re incredibly livable daily drivers. Just look at Mercedes’s article on the S5. You’re not really sacrificing anything on a day-to-day basis. If you wanna pretend to be a racecar driver and push it to 10/10th’s everywhere you go, daydream about all the nice things Motor Trend said about the steering feel in their review and revel in the fact that your car has .04G more lateral grip than the competition on your way to Target, BMW will be happy to sell you something that will rattle your teeth out everywhere you go. The regular S/RS series can go from a comfortable, quiet cruiser to something that will be a ton of fun on the twisties with the flick of a switch. I don’t want your static racecar suspension, I want my air-ride and fancy pants magnetic dampers so I can put it in Comfort and float down the highway with my two kids and two dogs, then flick it to Dynamic and do some hooning when I’m solo.
Many people prefer the one car solution due to parking constraints, costs, etc and the S/RS fit that role great in their non-performance trims. If you aren’t bothered by having a car for every mood and you’ve got the parking, then sure, get an M3 CS, an Escalade and a pickup truck.
Yeah a buddy has an RS3 and damn that is a fine daily, while still willing to rip your fillings out (especially with the ceramic brake package; seriously the best brakes I’ve felt on a road car). Now when it comes time for a brake job and you’re staring down the barrel of a $6k+ job maybe he’ll swap back to steel rotors and the like, but it’s a fantastic car and I definitely get the appeal.
I thought the carbon ceramic rotors were a lifetime component. The pads are expensive but not a $6k job.
Yeah I’ve read a range of values for rotor service life, up to and including life of the car. I’ve ridden with him enough to doubt he will make it that far with them, so we’ll see.
I like hatches and wagons, but I don’t understand them in the context of performance/luxury cars. In my mind, the reason for a wagon is the utility of being able to haul stuff. Hauling stuff, in my experience, tends to lead to dirt, scuffs and scratches in the interior, and I wouldn’t want any of those things in a premium vehicle. I have trouble with the concept of an E-class Mercedes being a wagon, and that’s downright affordable compared with this. I feel like pure performance can be achieved easier in a coupe or dedicated sports car. Can anyone explain rationally why this exists?
There’s a lot that can be hauled back there without getting things scuffed and dirty. Costco bulk items, luggage, real estate signs (local realtor just replaced his E63 with an RS6).
I agree it feels like you’re starting from a severely compromised position if you’re trying to build an all-out performance machine. I can get it with hot hatches, they’re sized and priced for someone with space for a single car. At the price of this, the buyer likely has the space for multiple cars and definitely has the budget.
I’m guessing something like this lets them assign a lot of development costs to a higher volume vehicle instead of developing a sports car chassis that sells in low numbers.
I think the question itself is inherently slightly flawed. Cars, and car purchases, are NOT rational. There is something very emotional involved in the discussion, especially when the buyer is ONLY buying the car for their pleasure. I love wagons. I DD a turbo wagon. And had I the cash, I would buy the RS6 Avant over any other Audi, hands down. Not because its capable. But because I love them.
OK, good enough. It may not be rational, but it’s an explanation I can understand. It’s just that from the manufacturer’s perspective, it seems like the market would be very small. I guess there’s a reason I don’t build cars.
The market *is* very small, but I always see the manufacturing of fast wagons as basically a marketing expense because of the universal esteem the media seems to hold them in.
I love that it’s not just a hot-hatch, but a hot-wagon.
But the price makes my eyes water.