The Audi RS6 (C7)

The Audi RS6 (C7)

Audi RS6 (C7) (2012-)

Audi RS6 (C7, 2015 facelift, Source: Ruairí Browne)

The third generation RS6 is by far the most technologically advanced RS6 model and is a great jump for Audi, thanks to it's extended fuel economy melded with high performance, making the most out of its 4.0 litre twin-turbo V8 producing around 552 bhp. It is the ultimate in sleeper status, with little giving it away as a 552 bhp beast. As an estate it also is very practical. As my neighbour, an RS6 owner, said "If you want to go fast, buy a Porsche, if you want to go fast with a dishwasher in the back, buy an RS6". The C7 is built in Audis Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm plants which are both situated in Germany. Neckarsulm is the head of quattro GmbH, who are the specialists who manufacture the S and RS models.

Figures:
Power: 560bhp
0-60 (mp/h) time: 3.9 seconds
Top Speed: 250 km/h (155 mph) (limited)
Price (New): €201,000 (IRE), €97,000 (UK)
Weight: 2010kg

           
As you can see, this car is very powerful, and it is not a toy. One test drive in Poland shows what can happen if you don't pay attention and look at your surroundings, as this video shows.

Different versions:

Audi RS6 Performance: 

This was Audi's own boost to the RS6, bringing the power up to 597 bhp and the 0-60mph time down to 3.7 seconds. It costs £9000 which seems like a good deal until you see what Litchfield offer down below.

Audi RS6 Litchfield:
Litchfield would take a stock RS6, give it a new exhaust and do an ECU remap, which boosted the power to 750 bhp and giving it a 0-60mph time of 3.4 seconds. This massive power increase comes with and rock bottom price tag of €6100 which makes it probably the best tune for your RS6.

The Audi RS6 (C6)

The Audi RS6 (C6)

Audi RS6 (C6) (2008-2010)

Audi RS6 (C6, Source: http://ag-spots-2014.o.auroraobjects.eu)

The second generation RS6 was more powerful that the pevious one and had 130bhp more, thanks to a biturbo V10, putting it ahead on power on its main rivals, the BMW M5 and the Mercedes E63  AMG. It was the most powerful Audi model at the time, and is thought to be one of the best driver's cars in the world, thanks to its V10 and easily accessible performance. This version of the RS6 was built in Audi's Neckarsulm plant, near Stuttgart in Germany.




Figures:
Power: 571bhp
0-60 (mp/h) time: 4.6 seconds
Top Speed: 250 km/h (155 mph) (limited)
Price (New): €97,000 (UK)
Weight:2025kg

The Audi RS6 (C5)

The Audi RS6

I am going to be talking about my favourite RS model, the Audi RS6, which has been on sale since 2002 starting with the C5 model

Audi RS6 (C5) (2002-2004)

Audi RS6 (C5, Source: http://cdn.pinthiscars.com)

The C5 was the first RS6 and sported a 4.2 litre V8 from the Audi S6, of which the RS6 is very much derived from. Audi took this engine and added two turbochargers to give out 444 horsepower. The RS6 as only available with Audi's permanent Torsen-based four wheel drive system.






Figures:
Power: 444bhp
0-60 (mp/h) time: 4.4 seconds
Top Speed: 250 km/h (155 mph) (limited)
Price (New): €77,000 (UK)
Weight: 1865kg

Where it all began

The Idea:

During the 90s, Audi engineers wanted to create a niche product. They looked around for what car to modify before settling on the stock Audi 80, a run of the mill estate/saloon car which was the equivalent to todays Audi A4/A6. Little did the engineers know that this project would still be going strong more than 20 years later, with at least one powerful form of almost every model.



An example of an Audi 80 quattro (Source: http://cdn4.3dtuning.com)

Audi collaborated with Porsche on the RS2, who supplied some of the parts of the RS2, such as the brakes and suspension. The engine was a modified version of Audi's 2.2 litre turbocharged inline five producing around 311 BHP. Despite the car being mainly built off of Audi components, Porsche dealt with the manufacturing and assembly in their Rossie-Bae plant in Germany. Their creation was an unbelievably quick estate car which would become a legend in the future.

The Audi RS2 (Source: http://bestcarmag.com)

The Audi RS2 was incredibly quick, and Autocar magazine conducted a 0-30 mp/h (48 km/h) test and recorded a 1.5 second time, which beat the McLaren F1 and Jacques Villenueve's F1 racing car to that speed. Even by todays standards it is by no means slow, with its acceleration on-par with the C5 Chevrolet Corvette and the 996 gen Porsche 911.

Here is a video of the RS2's acceleration:



Introduction

Introduction:

My name is Ruairí and I am going to be writing a series of short posts that explain the history of Audi's RS division, a section of the company dedicated to making more-powerful-than-normal Audis.
I start at the creation of the company, and go through the company's history until present day. I will go over the geographical aspects among other things. I hope you enjoy this as much I as do and thank you for visiting this website!
- Ruairí

The Audi logo (Source: http://cartype.com/)