A name that evokes excitement across four generations and two decades, this is the history of the Audi RS 6
To quote one of my favourite fictional characters, “German science is the best in the world!” If that reference eluded you, I am quoting Colonel Rudol Von Stroheim from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and this quote of his applies very well to cars, especially the evergreen and exciting Audi RS 6.
Over the 20 years that the Audi RS 6 was being produced, it has had a loyal fanbase and set the standard for high-performance station wagons thanks to its outstanding practicality and performance.
The foundation of the success of the first generation Audi RS 6 in 2002 was its double-charged engine and all-wheel drive concept which remained intact throughout all 4 generations of this magnificent sleeper car.
This 20 year journey began in 2002 with the C5 generation Audi RS 6 which presented an opportunity for quattro GmbH, now known as Audi Sport GmbH after injecting the RS 4 with some improved performance.
So they took the A6 and beefed it up, with a more sports oriented engine, suspension and transmission then made the whole car wider. Hence, the Audi RS 6 was born and at a time when Audi won the LeMans 4 years in a row no less.
Then six years later, the second generation C6 Audi RS 6 arrived with even more performance. This beast was equipped with a V10, a sizable upgrade from the V8 that came before.
This made the sleeper status of the Audi RS 6 all the more exciting as it still looked like an everyday family car but had an upgraded transmission from the previous generation to handle all the power that monstrous engine could put out.
With the next generation C7 Audi RS 6 which came five years after the C6, the engine was scaled back again to a V8. This was critiqued endlessly by customers. What’s more, it was only a four-litre displacement engine, many were skeptical as to whether or not this generation would still be powerful.
Despite this, the C7 became the best selling generation of Audi RS 6 and had air suspension to boot since customers asked for more comfort in their car. This proved it had more than enough performance despite having a smaller engine.
Last but certainly not least, in 2019, Audi gave us the best generation of RS 6 with the C8 generation. With the same four-litre V8 paired with a 48-volt mild hybrid system, this is the most efficient Audi RS 6 we have seen to date.
Sticking to it’s roots of simplicity, comfort and performance, this car doesn’t look like much, but just like the ones that came before, it is a beast on the road.
