You may have noticed recently that Audi’s changing the way it names its cars. Again. The e-tron electric SUV merged with the Q8 last year because the company’s EV line-up was all over the place, and more recently the German car giant decided that all electrified cars should be even numbers while the odds go to the combustion cars. That means the conventional A4 now becomes the A5, while the recently-revealed A6 will now be powered exclusively by batteries.
Quite what that means for the future of the RS car is something we don’t really know yet. The company clearly isn’t afraid to use the RennSport moniker on its electric cars, with the RS e-tron GT serving as Audi Sport’s de-facto halo car now that the R8 has been resigned to the history books. Recent spy shots of a hot V6 Avant circulating on the internet suggest petrol-powered RS cars aren't off the table, but the likelihood of the V8 wagon returning for what should be the RS7 (formerly the RS6) looks pretty slim. And if it does, who knows if it’ll be anywhere near as boisterous as those that have come before.
See, every generation of RS6 has always been over-engined, whether that be twin-turbocharged V8s with over 600hp or an enormous V10. It’s a formula that the very first RS6, much like the one we have for sale here, set out so brilliantly that it’s been closely adhered to (bar the aforementioned V10-powered C6) ever since. And golly, was it effective. A twin-turbo V8 churning out 450hp is punchy by any standards, but we’re talking about a four-door family saloon with more grunt than the equivalent Porsche 911 Turbo. At the time of launch in mid-2002, it comfortably had the edge on the E39 BMW M5 and W210 Mercedes E55 AMG. The latter would get a leg-up on the RS6 a year later, but only just.
Then there were the hardware improvements. Audi dropped the ride height by 20mm, the dampers were 30 per cent stiffer than the base car’s, and the firm’s Dynamic Ride Control made its debut, which increased damping pressure to counteract pit and roll. It’s a purely mechanical system, too, and while that doesn’t mean it’ll be trouble-free, it’ll surely be less ruinous than the electric systems some of its rivals were using at the time. And have you seen the brakes? Hard to miss ‘em, really, given those 365mm discs up front with eight-piston Brembo calipers to grab onto them.
Changes were kept relatively light inside, with some carbon trim and some very plush-looking Recaro seats being the full extent of it. Not that you need any more. By now you’ve probably spotted the cobra head in the centre console: the RS6 was only ever offered as an auto, sadly, but it’s a near-two-tonne super saloon at the end of the day. And a front-heavy Audi at that. But as Matt Bird found out in a year ago (albeit in the rare Plus model), the original RS6 “tracks like a bullet train, brakes with total composure, and always finds purchase as long as the entry speed isn’t too optimistic.”
It’s aged magnificently, too, perhaps looking a touch restrained in period but that’s worked in its favour in the long run. A huge amount of car for the £11,495 asking price, especially as it’s backed up by a chunky history file including invoices for a recent timing belt and water pump change. You’ll be paying at least double that for an M5, or make that nearly triple for this lovely Silverstone Blue car, and while a W210 E55 AMG can be had for a bit less, it’ll also be 100hp down on the RS6. Question is, can you look past the fact that it’s not an Avant?
SPECIFICATION | AUDI RS6 (C5)
Engine: 4,172cc V8, biturbo
Transmission: five-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 450@5,700rpm-6,400rpm
Torque (lb ft): 413@1,950rpm-5,600rpm
MPG: 19.3
CO2: 350g/km
Year registered: 2003
Recorded mileage: 82,000
Price new: £58,800
Yours for: £11,495
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