4.0T 4dr All-Wheel Drive quattro Wagon
2021 Audi RS 6 Avant
Finally. A 2021 Audi RS 6 Avant sits at the curb. It’s in Nardo Grey, arguably Audi’s best shade of grey (of which there are many). Year after year has gone by without a proper Audi sports wagon being sold in the United States. We’ve always had to longingly look across the ocean with one eye on the 25-year clock for import status. For those counting, the RS2 is now available. Most of 2020 has been downright dreadful, but Audi has done its best to cheer us up with Avants back on this continent. We’ve already driven the standard A6 Allroad, but now it’s time to put the enthusiast darling RS 6 Avant to the test. “How long do we need to wait to afford one of these?” my girlfriend asks as the laser light unlock animation plays in the headlights. “Maybe … 10-15 years,” I say chuckling, genuinely wondering what kind of depreciation this six-figure German superwagon will suffer from. Wagon devotees across the nation are likely wondering the same thing. A boatload of enthusiasts want a midsize wagon with 591 horsepower, but the percentage of that group with bank accounts to afford such a vehicle is not conducive to high sales volumes. Therefore, just like the Mercedes-AMG E 63 S Wagon and Volvo V90, the only way for Audi to justify the costs of bringing the RS 6 Avant here is to make it order-only. Fine, now every owner can get exactly what they want. But is the new RS 6 Avant a wagon that you want? The answer is a resounding hell yes if you’re judging it by exterior design. Only the front doors, roof and rear hatch are the same as a standard A6 Avant, which is now the only A6 wagon model not sold here. Every other body panel is unique to the RS 6, which gave designers huge amounts of freedom to make this wagon look the part. Mean, threatening and fast are three words that instantly come to mind when taking the wagon in from head-to-toe. Its massive, frameless grille, huge 22-inch wheels, super low side skirts and oval RS tailpipes only represent a fraction of things to love. Flared arches show off the extra 1.6 inches of width on each side (3.2 inches wider total versus an A6 Avant), and our tester’s Black Optic package just makes this wagon even more sinister. But the RS 6 Avant is not beautiful or elegant in any traditional sense. It’s far too brutal of a design to bandy those words about. In that way, this wagon’s design matches its utterly animalistic and brutal performance capabilities. Under the hood is Audi’s flavor of the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that is so kindly shared about the Volkswagen Group. In this tune it makes 591 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, which is good enough to send your whole family into orbit and/or sprint to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds using launch control. The venerable ZF 8-speed automatic sends …
Full Review
Finally. A 2021 Audi RS 6 Avant sits at the curb. It’s in Nardo Grey, arguably Audi’s best shade of grey (of which there are many). Year after year has gone by without a proper Audi sports wagon being sold in the United States. We’ve always had to longingly look across the ocean with one eye on the 25-year clock for import status. For those counting, the RS2 is now available. Most of 2020 has been downright dreadful, but Audi has done its best to cheer us up with Avants back on this continent. We’ve already driven the standard A6 Allroad, but now it’s time to put the enthusiast darling RS 6 Avant to the test. “How long do we need to wait to afford one of these?” my girlfriend asks as the laser light unlock animation plays in the headlights. “Maybe … 10-15 years,” I say chuckling, genuinely wondering what kind of depreciation this six-figure German superwagon will suffer from. Wagon devotees across the nation are likely wondering the same thing. A boatload of enthusiasts want a midsize wagon with 591 horsepower, but the percentage of that group with bank accounts to afford such a vehicle is not conducive to high sales volumes. Therefore, just like the Mercedes-AMG E 63 S Wagon and Volvo V90, the only way for Audi to justify the costs of bringing the RS 6 Avant here is to make it order-only. Fine, now every owner can get exactly what they want. But is the new RS 6 Avant a wagon that you want? The answer is a resounding hell yes if you’re judging it by exterior design. Only the front doors, roof and rear hatch are the same as a standard A6 Avant, which is now the only A6 wagon model not sold here. Every other body panel is unique to the RS 6, which gave designers huge amounts of freedom to make this wagon look the part. Mean, threatening and fast are three words that instantly come to mind when taking the wagon in from head-to-toe. Its massive, frameless grille, huge 22-inch wheels, super low side skirts and oval RS tailpipes only represent a fraction of things to love. Flared arches show off the extra 1.6 inches of width on each side (3.2 inches wider total versus an A6 Avant), and our tester’s Black Optic package just makes this wagon even more sinister. But the RS 6 Avant is not beautiful or elegant in any traditional sense. It’s far too brutal of a design to bandy those words about. In that way, this wagon’s design matches its utterly animalistic and brutal performance capabilities. Under the hood is Audi’s flavor of the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that is so kindly shared about the Volkswagen Group. In this tune it makes 591 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, which is good enough to send your whole family into orbit and/or sprint to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds using launch control. The venerable ZF 8-speed automatic sends …
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Retail Price
$109,000
MSRP / Window Sticker Price
| Engine | V-8 |
| MPG | 15 City / 22 Hwy |
| Seating | 5 Passengers |
| Transmission | 8-spd w/OD |
| Power | 591 @ 6000 rpm |
| Drivetrain | quattro all wheel |
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