Arch-rival to the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, Audi's prodigious RS6 is possibly the best car to go Ferrari-baiting with the family on a lazy weekend
Nitish Ramanujam

It seems German car makers haven’t realized that the decadent Eighties are long gone, leaving us with nothing much these days – global financial meltdown, rapidly waning natural resources and self-righteous eco-heads poking their noses into everyone’s business. But, with cars bearing AMG and M badges, at least we’ll all be going down in a blaze of glory. Frankly speaking, the German horsepower war is getting a little OTT these days, with monster engines belting out performance figures big enough to scare supercars silly.

While Mercedes-Benz and BMW have been going at each others jugular for quite a while now, Audi curiously stood outside the fence, watching them play. We know the stories behind our high-powered Teutonic duo quite well, but did you know that you could buy a Porsche-assembled Audi RS2 way back in 1994? With a powerful motor and quattro all-wheel drive, it was a fabulous car, and Ingolstadt did follow up with a series of wonderful machines in the coming years. It was in 2006, with the launch of the brilliant, second-generation RS4, that Audi went full steam ahead with the RS brand, enthusiast and the press going nutters over it and pitting the car against the M3 and the C63 AMG.

Once production ended in 2008, a halo car was needed in the family, something that would speak volumes about the company and showcase its engineering excellence. With the new RS6, Audi has stepped into the ring and blow torched both the current M5 and E63 AMG on pure performance numbers. Let’s see how good it is on the road.

On the outside
It’s not as modest as the M5 - which looks like a bodykitted 5 Series with bigger rims - but neither does the RS6 appear as edgy as the latest E63 AMG. I love the look though, the big Audi coming through as squat and sinister, especially in black and sitting on those delicious 20-inch wheels, wrapped in high-performance 275/35 ZR20 Pirelli P Zero rubber. Crisply flared aluminium wheel arches are required for the widened track, and hark back to the early quattro rally models. Enlarged air inlet openings and über cool daytime running light strips, each with 10 LEDs, round out the visage, along with a black-painted mesh grille and the RS6 badge. The rear gets LED lighting too, along with a diffuser that integrates a beefy-looking exhaust tip at each end.

Under the hood
The calling card of the RS6, the Lamborghini-derived 5.0-litre V10 is accompanied by two variable geometry IHI turbos for a gob-smacking 580hp, which is more than not only its opponents, but even the R8 V10 and the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4! Put aside the stupendous 4.5-second run from zero to 100, and the fact that the car can easily top 300kph in de-restricted form, cross-country pace is devastating too, thanks to the monumental 650Nm of torque available from as low as 1500rpm. And here’s a little tech trivia to impress your friends - a total of seven radiators and four electric fans keep things cool in the engine bay.

At the wheel
The interior of a modern-day Audi is a tactile and visual treat, and our RS6 is no different, replete with fantastic red leather chairs and a generous helping of carbon fibre, accented with red double stitching on the dash, steering wheel and gear boot. Nice place to conduct business, then. Thumb the starter button, fall in love with the deep V10 noise, and you’re off on a cloud of torque. I found it quite an interesting car over the few days we had it; supremely capable, yet in many ways seems like just an over-endowed Audi.

The RS6 lies low on the radar for the most part, bar a slightly sinister stance, but once you floor the loud pedal, it’s like sounding a klaxon at a funeral gathering, at least for its opponents. Inside, there is little drama, except for the frighteningly blurring scenery outside. The motor is very responsive (as is the throttle pedal), and is aided in its chores by a snappy 6-speed automatic that sends power to all corners via the quattro permanent AWD system. Thanks to standard Dynamic Ride Control, composure is absolutely unflappable, and the ride is on the comfy side too, despite the low-profile rubber. You can choose between three-stage variable damping characteristics - “comfort”, “dynamic” and “sport” - which can be accessed via the MMI screen. Best to leave it in the middle setting as the first can be too cushy for spirited driving while the latter is a touch too hard.

The sad thing is, it’s hard to hit it with the near-perfect Audi; while the BMW and Mercedes counterparts are less polished and less powerful, they have a certain magical character that draws you in. Maybe it’s because you expect something otherworldly from a car this well-endowed. At the end of the day, the sledgehammer RS6 is a resolutely cohesive product, crushingly capable and extremely well-mannered - typically Audi - but it never stirs up your emotions or makes you go all weak-kneed. It’s like Hancock in AD 2050 then – all the power and all the fury, but sanitized, politically correct and less captivating.