Audi - RS6 - BBC TopGear Roadtest [June 01 2002]


 It was hard to imagine anyone going one
 better than the RS4, Audi's compact
 "lifestyle" estate that chews up sports cars
 and spits them out from its exhaust. So
 Audi kindly saved them from the bother,
 by building their own, the RS6. 

 Enabling the RS6 to slacken jaws with
 disbelief is a 4.2-litre, biturbo V8 motor
 whose credentials pretty much speak for
 themselves. Peak power is 450bhp,
 developed from 5,700rpm, while the torque
 figure of 413lb ft comes in at just 1,950rpm
 (yes, you read it right first time). 

 Steamrolling autobahns is all well and
 good, but as we all know, over in good ol'
 Blighty the roads are as crowded as
 Prescott's garage is crammed with Jags. So
 it's good to find that the quattro GmbH lot
 have backed up the V8 powerhouse with
 some suitably accomplished hardware,
 starting with the brakes. The composite
 compound discs are ventilated all round
 and massive too, with equally huge
 eight-piston calipers up front getting an
 unbreakable hold of the discs. No matter
 what speed you're slowing from, nor how
 many times, the ABS and EBD-backed
 system can't be faulted, as it tries to
 wrench your head off from its comfy perch
 on your shoulders every time you lean hard
 on the middle pedal. 

 That's always reassuring to know. Because
 once away from the open expanse of
 three-lane motorways, the RS6's potential
 available performance becomes even more
 gob-smacking. Ground can be covered
 between bends with astonishing ease.
 There's so much torque on offer. Way
 more than, say, an M5, which would be
 humiliatingly outpaced by the RS6. Ease
 the throttle to the floor and, from
 2,000rpm, you are into Ferrari 360
 territory. But would the M5 driver be
 enjoying him or herself more when the
 straights turn to corners' 

 Now, this is a tough one to answer. It all
 depends on how you like your cars to
 handle. The RS6 comes with aluminium
 four-link front suspension and double
 wishbone at the rear, boasts tailored
 springing and damping rates, and features
 front and rear anti-roll bars. Together
 with the quattro permanent
 four-wheel-drive system and a new
 Dynamic Ride Control system, which
 eliminates body roll through mechanically
 operated hydraulic damping, it is
 staggeringly accomplished. 

 Point it at a corner and it just goes round.
 Flat and fast. There's a remarkable level of
 grip and huge ground covering potential.
 But you know what I'm going to say, don?t
 you' That it?s a bit inert. A bit lifeless. Not
 adjustable and playful in the way a
 hooligan-friendly rear-wheel M5 or
 Jaguar S-Type R would be. Right' Well,
 you'd be wrong. 

 Because the RS6 manages to be surprisingly
 adjustable. Throw it into a tight third- or
 second-gear corner on a trailing throttle,
 or with a dab of brakes, and the tail end
 shows willing and swings right round,
 calling for a healthy dose of opposite lock
 and a touch of power from the softly
 responding throttle. 

 You probably wouldn't be able to indulge
 in such antics if it weren't for the new
 version of the Tiptronic automatic
 gearbox. As well as regular Drive and
 Tiptronic self-shift modes, there's a new
 Sports mode, which revs higher, holds on to
 gears through bends and changes down
 earlier. There are also small paddles on the
 back of the sports wheel, replacing the
 previous buttons, which have a satisfyingly
 short, sharp travel and will, no doubt, be
 the preferred mode of operation. 

 On the outside, Audi had already got the
 looks sussed with flared wheel arches,
 lowered ride height, 19-inch wheels, a big
 jutting chin with mesh covering for the air
 intakes and a low-slung back bumper with
 two fat exhaust tail pipes chucking out
 masses of heat. 

 Inside, you're treated to something of a
 pampering rather than a battering. Recaro
 leather sports seats with RS6 logos offer
 fantastic support and comfort, while there
 are more toys in here than you will find
 under the roof of Hamleys. 

 Audi UK suspects that most buyers of the
 RS6 will already have something flashy and
 low slung sat on their driveway at home -
 the RS6 will be the day-to-day wheels.
 Around 500 are anticipated to be sold
 between now and 2004, with 70 per cent of
 those being Avants. 

 My advice to them would be choose black
 or grey, remove all tell-tale RS6 badging,
 black-out all chrome trim and treat
 yourself to a rare insight into that
 misunderstood world of German humour. 

               James Mills