Stretching the credibility of the seemingly endless permutations of Nissan GT-R versus the world comparisons? Possibly. But ask James how the sight of an Audi grille filling his mirrors was sufficiently intimidating he managed to out-brake himself into the first corner at Blyton...
Still doesn't necessarily answer the question of why we think pitching a twin-turbo V8 German estate car against a GT-R makes any sense whatsoever, comparable £80K pricetags or not. But let's look at it this way. Maybe you've had a GT-R or two. Maybe you've gained some children or are under more generalised pressure to grow up and buy something more appropriate for the driveway of an aspirational neighbourhood.
Maybe you need all of the above but don't want to kick the habit of ludicrous power, outrageous acceleration and all-weather performance. Maybe you could do worse than 605hp's worth of turbocharged Audi RS6 Avant Performance...
Rest easy GT-R fanboys - the Nissan is still faster than an Audi estate car. But not by as much as you might think...
As we know, Nissan has had an attack of coyness when it comes to publishing performance stats for its
latest GT-R
. Which seems a little hypocritical, given the car's legend was built on a trail of shattered lap times, acceleration benchmarks and giant-killing performances on road and track. On the basis the last published 0-62 time was under three seconds and this new version has an additional 20hp we'll assume it's no slower and nearly a second quicker than the Audi. That a two-tonne estate can even be mentioned in the same breath remains astonishing though. Top end the Nissan comfortably nails the RS6, 196mph against 174mph of the raised Dynamic Package limiter.
As the years have gone by Nissan has attempted to civilise the GT-R's more agricultural character traits, this latest car now getting more leather on the dash and a tidied up infotainment interface with touchscreen control and other niceties. Don't worry though. It's still a GT-R and just as raw as before, even if the refined (all things relative) end of its operating spectrum has been further softened in an attempt to broaden its appeal and operating range.
We'll save that for another time though. Here on track everything on R and foot to the floor in an attempt to keep that monstrous Audi from filling the mirrors. And initially it's surprisingly close.
Because there are two ways to drive a GT-R. The first one is to believe the hype, tip-toe round the corners and then lean on that still extraordinary power and traction to launch along the straights. Driven thus the GT-R still feels very, very fast indeed. The Audi's engine isn't much bigger at 4.0 litres but has a couple more cylinders and sounds immense. The Nissan V6 is gruff and workmanlike, both cars leaning heavily on the turbos to deliver the real fireworks. And the GT-R's power delivery is quite peaky, demanding revs and boost before things really get exciting. You have to manage this, and the weight, if you're to really make progress and exploit the clever distribution of drive torque around the four driven wheels. A pattern we'll see repeated shortly...
Thing is, it's not enough to drop the Audi. For that you need to progress to the next level up. For this you need to drive the GT-R, not the other way around.
Because for all that hype about the GT-R being as easy to drive fast as its virtual representations the reverse is actually true. As a point and squirt machine a GT-R will take your breath away. As a real driver's car it's properly inspirational.
First trick is to stay on the brakes. Trail them into the corner and a whole new world opens up in front of you. Understeer is banished, the GT-R pivots around its centre and all of a sudden the point at which you get on the throttle is brought forward by several car lengths. And if you pin it THERE things get really exciting. Properly let off the leash a GT-R remains an amazingly interactive, exploitable and totally thrilling car. One even a 605hp estate car can't hope to keep up with.
Audi RS6 Avant Performance
In truth the motivation for this comparison was, as much as anything, opportunism. We had a track. We had access to a new MY17 GT-R - the grown-up and civilised one that lavishes a (thin) veneer of 'premium' over the existing fast Datsun formula. But one by one suitable contenders dropped out.
With recent experience of the RS6 Performance fresh in the minds one of those 'what if' office conversations became a call to Audi and then our second RS6 booking in as many weeks.
Working on the basis the differences between these two cars are reasonably self-evident let's attempt to find some similarities, beyond the fact they both rely heavily on forced induction and put their (considerable) firepower to the road via all four wheels. Well, they're both heavy beasts, the RS6 carrying a couple of hundred kilos over even the powerfully built GT-R and just shy of two tonnes. 605hp, 516lb ft from just 1,750rpm and a clever four-wheel drive chassis with a centre Torsen and active rear Sport Differential attempt to make some rational sense of those figures, our test car having the more hardcore steel sprung Sport suspension with the diagonally linked DRC dampers.
Given what they have to work with you'd reasonably assume this is a typical fast Audi; ballistic in a straight line whatever the weather but rather less inclined to join the fun in the corners. That's pretty much what you get to appreciate on the road but is there really more to it on the track?
Oh yes. Snappers and videographers are not easily impressed. But after our first stint on track there are raised eyebrows. Turns out the RS6 is so stiff it'll bounce off kerbs BTCC style. It's got so much power it leaves four black lines on the track surface out of the corners. And after a few laps the brake discs - steel not the £9,375 ceramics we had on our previous test car - glow vivid red with heat every time pads touch their surface. But it's got staying power and the ability to maintain this kind of pace for more than a token couple of laps. And, you know what, that GT-R isn't romping away quite as decisively as perhaps you might expect...
Like any heavy car being hustled around a track getting the Audi to go quickly is as much about managing the weight into the corners as it is mashing the throttle out of them. Here's the surprise. The RS6 responds. Sure, if you get greedy understeer is never far away. But if you can keep the front axle loaded and time the boost delivery correctly it'll actually use its power to neutralise the push and drive from that clever electronic locking diff at the back. Suffice it to say, there's a lot more to this car than straight-line heroics, though it demands bravery and a lot of space.
The eight-speed auto is a little lazy to respond to the paddles so you're best off concentrating on left-foot braking to get the speed off while introducing the throttle early to spool the turbos up. Time the overlap right and you get your 553lb ft of overboosted torque coming in just as the wheel is straightening and the RS6 settles into a fat four-wheeled drift. If you're too early it'll just push on. Too late and you have some surprisingly old-fashioned lag to contend with before the V8 is giving it full beans.
When it goes right and you manage to exit a corner with all four wheels laying down black lines and the windscreen full of GT-R the absurdity of what this car can do is never less than astonishing.
By the time we'd got the two cars together that office bravado seemed a little less convincing. Sure, the RS6 Performance had the on-paper performance to indicate it wouldn't be disgraced. But we've been here before with fast Audis. And few fast cars have such proven giant killing record as the GT-R.
Which makes the Audi's performance even more extraordinary, never mind the fact it made the Nissan properly work for its lunch. The gap between the GT-R and the rest of the performance car world has narrowed considerably since its launch of course and the rest of the world has been busy catching up. Even family estate cars, it seems.
And while this was never going to be a conventional head-to-head comparison it proves one thing for certain. If you're coming from a GT-R, a 911 Turbo or some other fast, four-wheel drive coupe and have got used to that on-demand, any day, any weather performance you don't have to sacrifice thrills for practicality. It would take some sturdy denial to prove the point by taking your RS6 to a track to go baiting supercars. But it's nice to know it can and it has depth beyond the huge numbers. Revelation is a bit strong. But it's one hell of a machine that makes you look grown-up and sensible even if you're actually some way off acting it.
NISSAN GT-R (MY17)
Engine: 3,799cc V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: 6-speed dual-clutch auto, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 570@6,800rpm
Torque (lb ft): 469@3,300-5,800rpm
0-62mph: 2.8sec
Top speed: 196mph
Weight: 1,752kg (minimum kerbweight)
MPG: 23.9mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 275g/km
Price: £79,995 (Pure spec, £81,995 for Recaro, £82,495 for Prestige with Black leather seats or £83,495 with Tan, Ivory or Red leather seats)
AUDI RS6 PERFORMANCE
Engine: 3,993cc, V8 turbocharged
Transmission: 8-speed tiptronic, Quattro all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 605@6,100-6,900rpm
Torque (lb ft): 516@1,750-6,000rpm (553@2,500-5,500rpm on overboost)
0-62mph: 3.7sec
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
Weight: 1,950kg (EU unladen)
MPG: 29.4 (combined)
CO2: 223g/km
Price: £85,085 (£99,420 as tested comprising head-up display £1,240; Assistance Pack £2,100, carbon styling pack £3,550; speed limit display £250; Parking Pack Advanced £1,310; RS Sport Suspension Plus with DRC £1,000; panoramic roof £1,300; carbon mirror housings £1,500 and Audi Connect and Audi Phone Box £750)
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