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FRANKFURT, GERMANY – Although the station wagon is not enough extinguished, one can not deny that it is part of a list of endangered species. People simply do not buy them anymore, especially in the United States, where buyers have voted with their wallets to get a higher sitting position and compromise the dynamic capacity of the crossover. Which makes Audi's decision to finally bring its spicy RS6 Avant wagon to the US all the more remarkable. In fact, the announcement of one of the fastest cars to the United States was dropped from Audi HQ a little less than a month ago and, as the model was on display at the Ford Motor Show, Frankfurt car this year, it seemed wise to take a closer look.
The RS6 is a product of Audi Sport, the racing arm of the company. Audi Sport builds on the knowledge acquired by the company and also applies it to variants of the more banal models of the brand. More often than not, it results in truly sublime cars that challenge Audi's traditional reputation of building cars that are attractive and simply fun to drive. compare a TT to a TT-RS for a vivid proof of that. And for 25 years, the RS6 is spearheading Audi Sport when it comes to carrying four people and a lot of their luggage (or two people and even more things) as quickly as possible. possible throughout Europe, regardless of the weather.
Here in the United States, we had to settle for the RS7, a close sibling of the RS6, so one can describe my favorite Audi model of all time as something that one must "be content with of". But now, well – off Audi customers will have a dilemma to solve: from next year, they will have the opportunity to buy one or the other.
A single glance is enough to distinguish an RS6 from a smaller A6. At the front, the dashboard is much more aggressive and common to the RS7 Sportback second generation that has just been announced (a car on which we will have more information, and a first report of the driving on 25 September). On the sides, there is no doubt that the much wider rail (1.6 inches / 40 mm wider than the base model) is surrounded by wider body panels along the sides. The wheels also give the game. Huge 22 that allow frankly massive brakes but at the front are bigger than the wheels of one of my last two cars (17.3 inches / 440 mm, with calipers to 10 pistons).
But it's under the skin that the real magic of Audi Sport is happening. The engine is a 4.0L twin-turbo V8, which shares an engine block and some other elements with the one you find on a Porsche Panamera Turbo, though much of the rest is reserved for Audi. It delivers 591 horsepower (441 kW) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) and includes a mild 48V hybrid system. All this power and torque is transmitted to the wheels via an 8-speed ZF 8HP automatic transmission. The vehicle is equipped with all-wheel drive in accordance with the basic principles of Audi. The rear axle uses this ingenious GKN dual clutch rear differential that you can also find in places as diverse as the Ford Focus RS and the Cadillac XT6.
The prices of the RS6 should be announced with the approach of the arrival of the car by 2020, and do not expect it to be cheap. But if you are one of those who begs Audi to bring this little red wagon here, it will soon be time to put your money where you are.
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