Audi RS6 (C6) | PH Heroes
Remember when the German premium brands would stop at nothing to outdo one another?
“The most powerful production Audi of all time” is how the manufacturer started the C6 RS6’s original 2008 UK press release. In 2020, the car starts from cold with a half a second of slow-motion whir. Both announce much the same thing: size, chaps, very much matters. Twelve years ago the world had been slightly inured to the idea of a V10-powered prestige car by the E60 M5, the first production saloon through the ten-cylinder looking glass in 2005. In 2020, the notion of a 5.0-litre bi-turbo V10 in a large estate car has recaptured its ridiculousness.
Of course, in 2008 all those moving parts were a means to an end. Now everyone wants to look under the bonnet and marvel at the leviathan packed, sardine-like, into an engine bay also accustomed to housing 2.0-litre four-pot diesels. Back in the day Ingolstadt wanted the headline and bragging rights over its nearest rivals, which included the Mercedes E63 launched a year before and packing AMG’s decidedly epic 514hp 6.2-litre V8.
The wet sump M156 was as naturally aspirated as a racehorse and made your eyes roll back in your head. The Volkswagen Group already possessed a V10 which did the same thing, but the even-firing, direct injected, all-aluminium unit Audi fitted to the RS6 was different. The parallel water-cooled turbochargers were there to deliver the death blow: 579hp and 479lb ft of torque from 1,500rpm - 95lb ft more than the M5 produced at 6,100rpm; even slightly more than the larger capacity E63 motor managed at 5,200rpm.
Twinned with the latest generation of torque biasing Torsen centre diff and a six-speed tiptronic automatic, the two-tonne RS6 was claimed to hit 62mph in 4.6 seconds and certainly needed its limiter to step in at 155mph. But that was all grist to the mill: really it was all about that easy-to-find horizontal wall of peak twist, permanently at action stations should you suddenly want to whisk the family from 30-70mph in a single, wife-upsetting mega-waft.
Sound familiar? It won’t surprise you to learn that the V10’s capacity for in-gear ferocity is by far the most contemporary thing about the C6 in 2020. Virtually every mainstream performance saloon or wagon launched in the subsequent decade mimics its absurdly brawny mid range. Sure, there’s even less turbo lag now and much cleverer, quicker gearboxes (not mention smaller, faster revving engines) but the upshot is much the same: the RS6 is custom-built to make improbably fast driving accessible.
The kicker, unsurprisingly, is the sheer size of the motor. The V10 hardly bothers to shout - it is impressively refined on a motorway and not much louder under load anywhere else - yet its outlandish proportions remain front of mind. Naturally there is heft, the inimitable feeling of something substantial and expensive rotating behind the bulkhead, but even this doesn’t fully account for the interesting ink blot the V10 leaves on the psyche. It’s remarkably difficult to drive the C6 without a trace of swagger. It’s like packing heat.
It probably helps that the car now blends in. The current iteration of RS6 spurns any pretence of subtlety; it wants desperately to be on the radar of anyone in glaring range. In contrast the C6 doesn’t boast much about its blistered arches or bigger wheels. The front and rear are only lightly embellished. Debadge the boot lid and an anglican vicar could arrive at Sunday mass in Audi’s heritage car without drawing significant comment.
The interior hardly threatens to turn saint into sinner either. Sure, there’s a flat-bottomed steering wheel and fancy leather pews and the speedo tops out at 200mph, but otherwise the C6 is all business. That the car generally predates the industry’s predilection for drive modes is honestly a relief (the V10 has two settings: rapaciously thirsty and off) although it is comfortably new enough to deliver Bluetooth connectivity, rudimentary sat nav and even a DAB tuner.
Driving the C6 casually in 2020 requires no expectation reset. The step off is confident and while the V10 has many fewer ratios to play with than the modern equivalent, it hardly needs them. Gently encouraging more from it doesn’t inevitably result in a downshift; often the tiptronic will be inclined to let you lug it out. And that’s absolutely fine. Not least because it makes the paddles seem less redundant than then are in the current RS6. Pulling on one because you genuinely need a lower gear is rather novel.
Generally though you’ll be pulling on it to light the touch paper. Doing this with some lock on is the best way to highlight the C6’s advancing years. The car is furnished with Audi’s hydraulic Dynamic Ride Control system which lets the dampers confer with each other across the diagonal via a central valve and deploy additional force when required. Plenty sophisticated enough for 2008 when we all had middling, earthbound expectations for how much weight and lateral stress an estate car chassis ought to handle. In 2020, not so much.
A dozen years of bar raising has left the nose heavy C6 far behind the torque vectored and active roll-barred and obviously more rigid C8. The old stager steers no more pleasantly either; its stodgy power assistance an unwanted reminder that Audi faired little better with hydraulic systems than it does with electric ones. Fight through the weirdly contrived resistance and you’ll eventually locate the usual surfeit of mechanical grip underneath - but more often than not it is weight you notice carrying rather than speed.
All of which doesn’t hobble the C6’s claim to hero status one bit. Being merely able on a B road is acceptable when your reason for being was hoovering up autobahn at a prodigious rate. In that endeavour the car feels no less adept than it must’ve done at launch, which is some feat when you consider that the C8 delivers an additional 111lb ft of torque from its own twin-turbocharged V8. Unlike the chassis, the V10 was not merely a stand-in until its maker dreamed up something more capable; its output was intended as the car’s standout feature, and still feels it more than a decade down the line. That Audi declined to share it with another model, and wouldn’t build a more powerful engine for years says much about the V10’s legacy. That half a second of whir tells you the rest.
SPECIFICATION | AUDI RS6 (C6) / AVANT
Engine: 4,991cc, V10 twin-turbocharged
Transmission: 6-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 580@6,250-6,700rpm
Torque (lb ft): 479@1,500-6,250rpm
0-62mph: 4.5sec / 4.6sec
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
Weight: 1,985kg / 2,025kg
MPG: 20
CO2: 331g/km / 333g/km
On sale: 2008-2010
Price new: c. £77,400 / £79,400
Price now: from £16,000
I imagine it's quite a pleasant spot in which to munch motorway miles too. Definitely worse ways to move the family and luggage.
OTOH, I look at how far forward that huge engine sits in the engine bay, and wonder what that does for the handling characteristics. Possibly mitigated by installing wider rubber at the front but that's not always do-able.
Exactly. I much prefer this and earlier generations.
An acquaintance of mine has recently taken delivery of a new AMG GT. He previously had a gloss black AMG SLS which actually blended in quite nicely in the quiet West London leafy street. This GT, though, has a vast black aggressive grille which looks VERY SHOUTY.
It's also in matte grey which looks like one of those naff wraps but which is now no doubt an extra-cost factory option.
As we approached my wife said "what the f--- is THAT?"
Shame, it's a magnificent car underneath the tat as is the latest RS6.
I suppose the cycle will be complete when they are all finally 4 pots with mapped-in cackles and pops.
:-(
Exactly. I much prefer this and earlier generations.
An acquaintance of mine has recently taken delivery of a new AMG GT. He previously had a gloss black AMG SLS which actually blended in quite nicely in the quiet West London leafy street. This GT, though, has a vast black aggressive grille which looks VERY SHOUTY.
It's also in matte grey which looks like one of those naff wraps but which is now no doubt an extra-cost factory option.
As we approached my wife said "what the f--- is THAT?"
Shame, it's a magnificent car underneath the tat as is the latest RS6.
I suppose the cycle will be complete when they are all finally 4 pots with mapped-in cackles and pops.
:-(
I do wonder if you split the comments on this forum into age brackets, if the clear preference for the C6 lingers in the >50 bracket?
On a different note, I thought I read somewhere (can't find it at the mo) that in Germany there is an option to buy the fast Merc E class in a business version where most of the tat and overstyling is removed. Would be a good option for the RS4/6 model IMO
I do wonder if you split the comments on this forum into age brackets, if the clear preference for the C6 lingers in the >50 bracket?
On a different note, I thought I read somewhere (can't find it at the mo) that in Germany there is an option to buy the fast Merc E class in a business version where most of the tat and overstyling is removed. Would be a good option for the RS4/6 model IMO
I got to drive it a fair few times and he acceleration was pretty bloody impressive but there was no denying the bulk when a corner arrived or you had to brake. It was a very subtle looking and sounding car (too subtle in the noise department though). It was very easy to drive very, very fast.
He now has a C7 RS6 Performance which feels very different; lighter on its toes but it doesn’t feel like it shoves you back in the seats quite so hard. I prefer the C7 which looks good but I’m not a fan of the latest C8 which is too tacky / in your face for me.
Had my current 2010 C6 Avant since 2015 (and 18k miles) and she has only covered 38k miles in total now.
Secondary cat delete, high flow air filters, gearbox remap and live engine remap at MRC (on the day of purchase in 2015) resulted in 756.9bhp and 1,040nm - a Veyron estate?
Almost replaced with a C7 when they came out but couldn't stand the rear styling so the C6 stayed.
If you want to remain understated whilst having a nuclear reactor under the bonnet of your family wagon - there is NO substitute!
My 2p worth.
There's quite a few new RS6 / M4 / SVR etc. drivers in my local area and they all fit a certain stereotype
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff