autoevolution
 

Ranking the 5 Best Audi Wagons of All Time

Audi made a name for itself back in the 1980s with the Quattro and subsequent Sport Quattro. The Ingolstadt-based automaker won two World Rally Championship manufacturers’ titles and two drivers’ titles when Group B was all the rage. These wins improved Audi’s image across the world, and the newfound popularity convinced the Germans to invest into a high-performance division.
Ranking the 5 Best Audi Wagons of All Time 34 photos
Photo: Audi / edited
Audi S6 plus AvantAudi S6 plus AvantAudi S6 plus AvantAudi S6 plus AvantAudi S6 plus AvantAudi S6 plus AvantAudi S6 plus AvantAudi S6 plus AvantAudi allroad quattro 4.2 C5Audi allroad quattro 4.2 C5Audi allroad quattro 4.2 C5Audi allroad quattro 4.2 C5Audi allroad quattro 4.2 C5Audi allroad quattro 4.2 C5Audi RS 4 Avant B7Audi RS 4 Avant B7Audi RS 4 Avant B7Audi RS 4 Avant B7Audi RS 4 Avant B7Audi RS 6 Avant C6Audi RS 6 Avant C6Audi RS 6 Avant C6Audi RS 6 Avant C6Audi RS 6 Avant C6Audi RS 2 AvantAudi RS 2 AvantAudi RS 2 AvantAudi RS 2 AvantAudi RS 2 AvantAudi RS 2 AvantAudi RS 2 AvantAudi RS 2 AvantAudi RS 2 Avant
Now known as Audi Sport GmbH, what used to be called quattro GmbH churned out the hideously underrated S2 in 1991 with a 2.2-liter turbocharged inline-six engine under the hood. The first model in the S series launched in the guise of a three-door liftback as the replacement of the Quattro series, and later during its production run, it was joined by an elegant sedan and a roomier wagon.

Audi had plenty of experience with station wagons by then, but once the S2 received this body style, there was no turning back for quattro GmbH. The German automaker’s most exciting wagons came from the hi-po skunkworks in Neckarsulm. The RS 2 Avant comes to mind, the company’s very first RennSport model and very first Audi station wagon to feature RS branding.

Exciting though they may be, RS-badged longroofs are joined by a plethora of S- and A-series Audi wagons that are brilliant in their own ways. From the nicer interiors compared to equivalents from Mercedes and BMW to the quattro system that sets Audi apart from its German rivals, there’s a lot to like about them. On that note, these are autoevolution’s five best Audi wagons of all time:

5. Audi S6 plus Avant

Audi S6 plus Avant
Photo: Audi
Our ranking kicks off with a fast wagon that’s often left out of such rankings. Part of the reason why the S6 plus Avant goes under the radar is the sheer rarity of this model, which was produced from 1996 through 1997.

Between June 1996 and October 1997, the mad professors at quattro GmbH finished 855 wagons and 97 sedans. The S6 plus represents the swan song to the Volkswagen Group C4 platform, which underpinned the 100, S4, A6, and S6 in the period from 1991 to 1997.

The 32-valve V8 engine was massaged by quattro GmbH to 322 horsepower and 295 pound-feet (400 Nm), numbers that were truly impressive for that era and the 4.2-liter displacement. For reference, the 5.7-liter LS1 in the 1997 Chevrolet Corvette churns out 345 horsepower and 350 pound-feet (475 Nm) at 4,400 rpm as opposed to 3,500 rpm for Audi’s more sophisticated engine.

4. Audi A6 allroad quattro

Audi allroad quattro 4\.2 C5
Photo: Audi
The only non-RS and non-S model on our list is a trendsetter of sorts. The AMC Eagle is arguably the first series-production crossover, but the allroad quattro series gave premium and luxury wagons the crossover spin that everyone seems to be mad about nowadays. Partly inspired by the Subaru Outback as well, the first-gen allroad quattro was based on the C5-generation A6.

At home on and off the road, the A6 allroad quattro differs from the A6 Avant by means of more ground clearance and plastic cladding where it matters. The A6 allroad quattro was joined by the A4 allroad quattro in 2009, a massive ten years after the original’s rollout.

Back home in Germany, the A6 allroad quattro is priced at 65,350 euros (make that 69,845 dollars at current exchange rates) for the 40 TDI quattro S tronic variant. The most potent of the bunch is called 55 TDI quattro tiptronic, which packs a mild-hybrid V6 turbo diesel that cranks out 339 ponies and 516 pound-feet (700 Nm).

3. Audi RS 4 Avant

Audi RS 4 Avant B7
Photo: Audi
The direct successor of the RS 2 Avant came out in late 1999 for the 2000 model year with much pomp and circumstance, for it switched from the 2.2-liter turbocharged inline-five engine of its predecessor to a more powerful and torquier bi-turbo V6. The six-cylinder lump isn’t 100 percent quattro GmbH, but the result of a collaboration with Cosworth in England.

Highlight updates over the 2.7-liter sixer in the S4 include bigger intercoolers, BorgWarner K04 turbochargers instead of K03s, a re-mapped Bosch Motronic engine control unit, and a big-bore exhaust system. Effectively an S4 on steroids, the RS 4 was originally available exclusively as a station wagon.

The current generation is a longroof as well, and the next generation is expected with the same 2.9-liter V6 twin-turbo mill as the outgoing model. The only difference is rumored to come in the form of plug-in hybrid assistance, which is utmost necessary given that Mercedes-AMG has recently PHEV-ified the C 63.

2. Audi RS 6 Avant

Audi RS 6 Avant C6
Photo: Audi
Heavier than the RS 4 Avant given that it slots one segment above its compact executive stablemate, the RS 6 Avant is a heavy-hitting wagon. The C5 launched in 2002 with a twin-turbocharged V8, and quattro GmbH shoehorned a bi-turbo V10 under the hood of the C6.

Closely related to the naturally-aspirated V10 of the Lamborghini Gallardo from that era, the RS 6-specific BUH engine features more than 400 new parts. It was Audi’s most powerful engine intended for road-going applications back then, belting out a massive 571 horsepower and 479 pound-feet (650 Nm) of torque.

The C7 switched back to a force-fed V8, and the C8 soldiers on with eight cylinders and two spinny lads hiding under the hood. Recently spied as a liftback-bodied sedan, the next-gen RS 6 is based around the PPE architecture that Audi jointly developed with Porsche. It features a fully electric powertrain, and this is probably the end of the road for the combustion-engined RS 6.

1. Audi RS 2 Avant

Audi RS 2 Avant
Photo: Audi
Our ranking wouldn’t be complete without the Avant that helped quattro GmbH instill respect into Motorsport GmbH and Aufrecht Melcher Grossaspach. The RS 2 Avant was unlike any other station wagon before it, even by Audi standards because Ferdinand Piech tasked Porsche to manufacture it at the Rossle-Bau assembly plant in Zuffenhausen. The automaker best known for the 911 was in a bit of a financial pinch back in the early 1990s, and following the discontinuation of the Mercedes-Benz 500 E, the Rossle-Bau facility needed any manufacturing contract it could get to stay afloat.

Capable of accelerating on par with the 996-generation 911 Carrera and the C5-generation Corvette, the RS 2 Avant also harks back to the Quattro and Sport Quattro thanks to a 2.2-liter turbocharged inline-five lump modified by… wait for it… none other than Porsche. The Stuttgart-based automaker also masterminded the high-performance braking system and suspension, as well as the 17- by 7-inch wheels and Porsche Cup side mirrors.

Premiered in March 1994 at the Geneva Motor Show, the RS 2 Avant was expected to end production after 2,200 units. Audi eventually finished 2,891 examples of the breed, of which 180 were specified in right-hand drive.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories