RS6 Avant: Grocery-Getter Turns Fast-Food
By: G.R. Whale
At it's electronically-limited 280 kph top speed the RS6 Avant shoves air and reluctant Mercedes drivers out of the way at about 255 feet per second, so when that bug dies in a camera-click 1/250th of a second on your windshield it still leaves a trail a foot long. In warm weather at least, you’ll spend considerable time cleaning dead bugs off an RS6’s leading edges.
Although a sedan has joined the RS6 family for 2009 Audi hasn’t said anything about potential import to the North American market. What with the flunking dollar/euro relationship, NHTSA/DOT drones, and sales numbers on the only remotely competitive car—the E63 AMG wagon--in the single-digit-per-month realm, the caution is understandable. We’re pessimistic given the costs of certification and diagnostics for a low-volume engine that is not otherwise offered here.
On the other hand bringing it stateside would offer some benefits. Even at small volume every unit counts when amortizing parts like custom fenders. You could scare the bejeebers out of…oops, um…educate Americans on Audi engineering three at a time as opposed to one at a time in an R8, maximizing exposure at marketing events. The same engine could be plugged into an R8 GT and make a homologated racer. Finally, Audi would become the only automaker with a waiting list for a station wagon, and how cool would that be?
Source: audiworld.com/news/08/...-roadtest/
RS6
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