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Written by:
John Hindhaugh
Radio Le Mans http://www.radiolemans.com
Radio Le Mans http://www.radiolemans.com
05/02/2008 - 04:17 PM
Le Castellet, France
Would you guess this classy 'soccer mom' mobile hides 580hp under the hood? Didn't think so... (Photo: John Hindhaugh) » More Photos
We have all done it. Sitting with friends, perhaps in the midst of a libation (or two), and the conversation migrates to ”my ideal car.”
It starts with all the usual suspects, the supercars, the super luxurious; hardly ever do the words ‘practical’, ‘everyday’ or ‘shopping car’ feature. Just wait for a moment though, let’s take that conversation and move it on just a little. What if you were designing your perfect everyday driver, not just buying it?
Suddenly ‘luggage space’, ‘seats for four adults’, all-wheel drive and probably even ‘understated’ are added to the usual performance requirements. But this is just a bar-room conversation not real life and this ‘all things to all men’ vehicle doesn’t exist. Except.......
I’m in the south of France, just outside Le Castellet opposite the entrance to the Paul Ricard racetrack (where ironically Peugeot are testing their super secret Le Mans spec on the 908HDi – but that’s another story..) and in front of me is a line of station wagons, estate cars as we call them in the UK. But dear reader, these are not your average, run of the mill, Labrador transporters.
Say hello to the new Audi RS6 Avant.
The ultimate sleeper car is something American's will have to enjoy across the Atlantic. Audi has no immediate plans to import the beast. (Photo: John Hindhaugh) » More Photos
Audi have a long and impressive history of performance estate cars. A dozen or so years ago I was lucky enough to take a RS2 to Le Mans, I still smile when I think about that trip. That’s another story too! The latest RS is a worthy successor. Rally fans will instantly recognize the blistered wheel arch treatment that Martyn Smith debuted on the Audi Quattro coupe 30 years ago. They look great and barely cover the 20 inch rims with tyres that are so low-profile it looks like someone has taken a sharpie and drawn a black line round the alloy! The aluminum door mirrors and LED running lights are fast becoming trademark RS items and separate this Avant from its siblings.
A press of the key fob and the electrically operated hatch opens on a cavernous loadspace which swallows the Hindhaugh luggage. Even as the lid is closing I’m heading for the driver’s door.
Let’s make no bones about this, everything about the RS is impressive, especially the raw numbers:
0-60 mph – 4.3 seconds
5.0 litre V10 twin turbo TFSI engine – 580 bhp
479 lbs/ft of torque from 1500 revs
Just take another look at the numbers and remind yourself that this is a street car from
Currently an A5 3.0 TDi quattro graces the driveway at Hindhaugh towers, so the interior is pleasantly familiar, the flat-bottomed steering wheel a nod to the R8 that I am lucky enough to drive on the ALMS Vitesse fleet. There’s a slightly different look to the numerals on the dials, an updated version of the (already excellent) sat-nav and an upgraded sound/vision system that for UK cars now includes digital radio AND digital TV. The leather chairs are electrically adjustable and embossed with the RS6 logo... wait what am I doing? You want to know about the drive don’t you?
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the RS6 is that in normal, everyday use, how unremarkable it can be. Yes the twin oval exhausts burble satisfyingly at 30 mph, enough to turn heads on a coast where supercars are an everyday sight. But calm understated lines, refreshing lack of pram (stroller) handle rear spoiler and that estate car body do make the most powerful Audi ever a magnificent Q-car.
The temptation on any ‘sports’ car launch is to get on the road and floor it in every gear, hoping there’s not a Gendarme and a radar trap around the corner. As I pull out onto the French roads I’m happy to slip the 6-speed S-Tronic box into drive and let the torque be my friend, for the first 10 minutes at least. The 90 minute route, as ever carefully planned by our hosts, had succumbed to a land slip that morning so it was just me, the French countryside and a full tank of premium unleaded. Oh dear!
To say the RS6 is capable is to say Mario Andretti could drive a bit. The 275/35 Michelins covered every type of surface the French authorities could throw at us. An addition to the RS6 specification is a very clever adjustable damper system, accessed from the ‘car set-up’ menu of the excellent and intuitive MMI (Multi Media Interface). To be honest I spent most of my time in the ‘Comfort’ mode which will be more than adequate for all but the most ‘press-on’ of owner. ‘Dynamic’, the middle option was superb on the smoother surfaces, especially the Peage (freeway) where the 130kmh limit felt ridiculously restrictive. In the UK, where our roads are poor compared to the rest of Europe the ‘Sport’ mode should be re-named ‘Trackday’ as it really was too unforgiving for anything other than the best of the French major routes.
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