Station wagons may not be perceived to be very sporty or sexy in South Africa, but Audi keeps on rolling out new metal that could change that. Destined for South African shores next year is the RS4 Avant and A4 Allroad models. Sadly, however, the fearsome 412 kW RS6 Avant will not be coming here…
Audi describes the newcomer as being a high-performance sports car for everyday use, and while it may make use of the traditionally conservative station wagon body, it does feature a number of aggressive details, including large air intakes, matte aluminium trim and a honeycomb mesh grille. Also part of the package is a rear spoiler, gloss black diffuser and 20-inch alloy wheels. Inside the RS6 can be distinguished by its leather/Alcantara sports seats, carbon fibre trim, flat-bottom steering wheel, illuminated sill plates and metallic detailing.
Power comes from a twin-turbo 4,0-litre V8 engine that produces 412 kW and 700 N.m of torque, and which is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission driving all four wheels through Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive system. Audi claims a 0-100 km/h sprint time of 3,9 seconds. The top speed is of course limited to 250 km/h, but the optional Dynamic packages raises this to 280 km/h, while there is also Dynamic plus pack, which brings with it a supercar-bashing 305 km/h top end! The RS6 Avant also features stop/start technology and a cylinder-on-demand system to cut fuel consumption. Audi claims an average consumption figure of 9,8 L/100 km.
The RS6 rides on a specially developed adaptive air suspension system with a 20 mm lower ride height compared with standard A6 Avant models. Carbon ceramic brakes and an even more focused sport suspension system are offered as optional extras. The latter sees the adoption of steel springs and three-way adjustable shock absorbers.
The Audi RS6 will sadly not be coming to South Africa.