Out of the three German premium brands, Top Gear frontman Chris Harris usually prefers the products of Mercedes-AMG. They're obviously the rawest, most tail-happy cars with thumping V8 engines. So, we were a little surprised by how much he praised the all-new 2021 Audi RS6 Avant.
Perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise, as the drifting expert always had a thing for fast wagons, having owned and "really admired" the Audi S4 Avant, the one with a supercharger. The RS6 is like that, only bigger and much more powerful.
Aesthetically speaking, it's almost impossible to hate the new RS6 Avant. It's hot the sharp headlights from the A7 and hip implants so large they should be illegal. But it surely can't be any fun because it's got an Audi badge. At the first sight of a corner, this wagon will show its true colors and understeer, right? Not according to this clip, where Harris throws the wagon sideways.
As part of the review he did for Top Gear's Series 29, Episode 3, Harris shows us that the RS6 can also be fun. It might not go as sideways as an AMG, but it certainly exhibits some fun handling characteristics. It's so refreshing to see it used for something other than the usual drag racing.
While the performance wagon has lost most of its drag races against German rivals, it's still not what you'd call slow. Under the hood is a new 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine delivering 591 hp (600 PS) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) of torque for a 0 to 60 mph (97 kph) time of 3.5 seconds. The top speed can also be as high as 190 mph (306 kph).
Subjecting the AWD to even harsher tests, Top Gear handed the RS6 to the Stig for some hot laps. Check out the second video below for some juicy track action.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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