25/04/08

• Price77,730
• We like...All that power, but it's an estate car
• We don't...Year-long waiting list for one

Audi estate packs an amazing 576bhp, making it one of the quickest cars you can buyIt may not look much, this Audi. And when we tell you how much it costs – and how long you’d wait to own one, you’ll be astonished. Ready?.... it’s £77,730 as you see it. Audi will build just 600 of this A6 RS6 quattro Avant this year, and even fewer next year. The order book is full, and you’ll wait a year for yours to arrive.

Put simply, this is the quickest estate you can buy, and there are only seven other cars of any hue or heft that can match or beat it and are on sale here. To go this fast, you’ll otherwise need a Bentley, Pagani, or Lamborghini, though a Ferrari and a couple of high-end Mercedes will also do. In such high-tone company, the Audi is, dare we say, almost cheap.

Its V10, 5.0 turbo engine cooks up 576bhp, whisking you from standstill to 62mph in 4.6secs and up to 175mph on a test track. It’s the quickest Audi you can buy, bar none.

So what’s it like to drive? Inside, the space and usefulness is much as in any A6: good room for five adults, plus their luggage for a holiday. You could even pop a Labrador comfortably in the load area, if you have one handy. Though we should add quickly that he’ll need to be hardy if you choose to tread anything but lightly on the throttle.

Four-wheel-drive, automatic transmission and all that power conspire to hurl you along the road like a rock from a catapult, if you choose to let it. Pushing more than an inch of throttle isn’t something you’ll stick at for more than a couple of seconds, though, unless you’ve no care for your licence, or else you’re on a private road.

But, amazingly, it will potter quite amiably along on just a breath of throttle, gently enough for a Sunday drive or even a trip to the DIY store, where it’ll excite few stares from any other than the most in-the-know car lovers. The steering is precise and the turn in very keen. You might think that its huge alloy wheels and skinny-sided tyres would mean a thump’n’bash ride but no. Audi has tweaked it so that it feels secure but always summons enough give to keep you comfy.

Step inside and its extravagant sports chairs signal what it’s about, coupled with a steering wheel that has its lowered rim squared off, why we’re not sure. Otherwise, it’s a very posh saloon, albeit with carbon fibre dash trim and many more buttons and dials than you’ll have fingers with which to push/twiddle.
The RS6 will travel up to 20mpg which is reasonable, all told, while its 333g/km of CO2 means you’ll be charged the maximum when paying road tax or when crossing central London. Audi says all RS6s go to private buyers – so we won’t even think of company car tax?

Should you, would you buy one? If you’re rich enough, why not? For the rest of us, marvel that such a patently sensible outfit like Audi can summon the nuttiness required to make and market such a machine. For this, nothing else comes close.

• Engines5.0 V10 twin turbo
• Power
• 0-60 mph4.5sec
• Economy20.2mpg
• CO2g/km333
• Insurance groups20
• EuroNCAP
• Airbags8
• Seats5

Motors.co.uk value verdict: