Or broken. A decade or
so ago the elite German manufacturers were involved in a horsepower battle and,
by “gentlemen’s agreement”, decided to limit their most powerful
cars to 250 km/h. The consensus was that, if the rivalry proceeded unchecked,
they would soon be churning out cars capable of speeds that would put Italian
supercars to shame. And with the crude electronic safety systems of those days,
these missiles, with up to five occupants dozing in plush leather seats, could
potentially become a serious safety concern.
Fast forward to the present and the situation is at boiling point. Mercedes-Benz
is building engines with power outputs that may just launch your car into orbit.
BMW is readying its own salvo of tarmac-rippling monsters. And Audi?
Well, in November 2003 we tested the Audi S4, which was supposed to be limited
to 250 km/h but ended up rocketing to 265 km/h, a new saloon record for this
magazine. An electronic glitch with the limiter, perhaps? Well, after testing
the RS6, we think not.
Audi, it seems, is no longer playing by the rules… The battle for the
Ÿber-saloon crown is well and truly on. And this is no place for gentlemen.
Which brings us to the Audi RS6 tested here. Thundering. Roaring. Bellowing.
Dogs run away from it, tails firmly between their legs. Little kids hide behind
their parents. This thing sounds evil. You hear it before you see it. But when
you do see it there can be no mistaking that the RS6 is the source of the rumbling.
The A6’s sculpted body takes on a whole new meaning when it is stretched
tight over massive 19-inch (optional) wheels. The front airdam has three huge
air-intakes to feed the heavy breathing V8 under the bonnet. The rear features
a racing-car like apron, with two big exhaust outlets sprouting from the sides.
There is a small spoiler on the boot, and side sills lend some extra weight
to the side view. The aero-addenda are subtle, but combine to give the RS6 the
muscular appearance it needs to justify that growl.
The interior is even more low-key. Sure, there are leather-trimmed Recaro seats,
suede on the roof, and aluminium trim inserts (optional) on the facia and doors,
but otherwise this is stock A6. Not necessarily a bad thing though, because
that also means rock-solid build quality, excellent ergonomics and decent space
for five occupants.
Standard equipment, however, is not very generous but includes dual-zone air-conditioning,
electric adjustment for both front seats, seat heating all-round, Xenon headlamps,
parking sensors, dual front, side and curtain airbags, and a Bose sound system
with 6-disc CD loader etc. You pay extra for even a base navigation system!
But enough of the “frills”, we suspect those interested in an
RS6 are more concerned about the thrills…
Pitched directly into the fierce BMW M5 vs Mercedes E55 vs Jaguar S-Type R
battle, the Audi comes with a hardware package that should seriously worry the
opposition.
Firstly, the 4,2-litre V8 that impressed us so much in the S4 forms the basis
of the RS6’s heart. But Audi has added not one, but two turbochargers,
each one aided by its own intercooler. The RS6 also benefits from a new backpressure-optimised
dual-branch exhaust system, and re-worked Bosch Motronic ME 7.1.1 management
system. Maximum power is an eye-popping 331 kW, on tap between 5 700 and 6 400
r/min. Even more impressive, perhaps, is that the 560 N.m maximum torque is
available from 1 950 to 5 600 r/min, promising massive thrust. These figures
are slightly lower than those of the E55 (350 kW and 700 N.m), but the Audi
may prove to be better able to use its firing power, since it boasts the venerable
quattro four-wheel drive system.
Drive goes to all four wheels via a modified version of the company’s
five-speed Tiptronic gearbox. The gearbox allows the driver to select gears
manually either via tapping the lever, or toggling paddles behind the steering
wheel. It also features a Sport programme, which changes the electronic mapping
of the gearbox to delay upshifts, allowing the engine to rev higher, and also
makes quicker downshifts. We all know the frustration of an automatic gearbox
shifting up when going around a corner. The RS6 counters this annoyance by measuring
the lateral acceleration acting on the car and cutting out these unwanted gearshifts.
Suspension looks fairly conventional at first glance – four-link in front
and double wishbone at the rear – but the RS6 has another trick up its sleeve.
A system called DRC (Dynamic Ride Control) counteracts movements of the vehicle
along both its longitudinal and transverse axes. Both shock absorbers on the
same side of the vehicle are connected with the diagonally opposed dampers on
the other side, each by means of one central valve. When the RS6 corners, a
damping force is generated via this central valve. When the suspension is compressed
on one side, the damper characteristic is modified in such a way that rolling,
or pitching, movements are limited. Besides DRC, the RS6 also has Audi’s
latest ESP 5.7, which integrates the ABS with EBD, EDL (Electronic Differential
Lock with active brake control), ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation), MSR (engine drag
torque control) and the higher-level yawing-moment control. Braking is taken
care of by massive composite ventilated discs, measuring 365 mm in front and
335 mm at the back.
In our original RS6 driving impression of August 2003, we mentioned that Audi
was not quite sure how quick the car would be from zero to 100 km/h, the Germans
first claiming 4,9 and then 4,7 seconds, within the stretch of two press conferences.
During our own tests, running on 95 octane unleaded, two-up and with a full
tank, the RS6 streaked to a very impressive 5,15 seconds time. It compares well
with the more powerful E55 (4,95 secs) and now discontinued M5 (5,64). The superior
traction of the Audi actually helps to catapult it to 60 km/h slightly faster
than the E55, but after that the supreme power of the Merc sees it pulling away.
The Audi’s 4,2-litre biturbo engine’s grunt is put to good use
in overtaking situations, with the RS6 needing only 1,46 seconds to get from
80 to 100 km/h, for example. Again, however, the E55 is slightly faster.
But whereas Mercedes-Benz keeps its bruiser limited to 252 km/h, Audi has given
the driver of the RS6 free rein… almost, by limiting the car to 267 km/h,
which makes it our new saloon car champ. With safety systems ever improving,
it seems it is only a matter of time before the so-called gentlemen’s
agreement is completely abolished.
It is reassuring to note that the RS6 felt entirely stable at these speeds,
and that the composite brakes had no problems hauling the car to a halt. In
emergency stops from 100 km/h, the big Audi performed superbly, recording an
average of 2,91 seconds.
Impressive as the raw figures are, on paper it would appear that the RS6 is
perhaps not the E55 beater that some may have hoped.
But out on real-world roads, with twists and turns and varying quality surfaces,
or in rainy weather, the Audi has the edge. Even with ASR cancelled, the RS6’s
quattro all-wheel drivetrain endows it with grip that the hairy E55 can only
dream about when its ESP is switched out. The Audi’s set-up also feels
significantly more rigid, with especially the DRC system playing an important
part here.
Cornering body roll is virtually absent. Go really hard into a bend on a reasonably
smooth surface and the RS6 will claw its way around in a generally neutral manner,
with understeer setting in if you keep the throttle buried. Lift off and it
gets back into line. Clinical stuff. No dramas. It does what the driver tells
it to do and doesn’t bother talking back all that much – steering
feedback is not very generous, although it does possess nice weighting.
And while that g-sensor does cut out some of the unwanted gearshifts, it still
would be nicer to be able to hang on to a gear and change when you want. So,
the way it does its cornering duty may sound rather unimpressive, but once cornering
velocities are factored in, the picture becomes rather more dramatic. Grip is
truly astounding. To get the RS6 to misbehave requires terrible driving. Only
really bumpy surfaces could pose a grip problem. The RS6’s firm ride,
perhaps erring on the side of hard, is made even more vertebrae-shattering by
the fitment of the optional 19-inch wheels.
To sum up, the RS6 is not the sharpest driving tool around, but it gets the
job done, even if its more of a sledgehammer than a scalpel. This will be of
little concern to those who just want to know this – the RS6 is virtually
certain to be faster over a challenging pass than any of its rivals. It may
just perhaps not offer the same kind of sweaty-palmed thrills.