Audi Celebrates 25 Years of RS Performance Cars
Audi has built some iconic performance cars in the last two and half decades. And most of the most celebrated RS-products have been high-performance wagons.
The coolest wagons in the world - all in one place
Nobody does the fast wagon quite with the style and substance that Audi has over the last 25 years. The German brand has built some legendary RS-specification estates in the last quarter-century and they are all deserving of their iconic status. Let us take a walk through the history of Audi's greatest five-door performance cars.
The original - with a little input from Porsche
It all started in 1994, with this car: the legendary RS2 Avant. A sleeper station wagon if ever there was one, this Audi performance car was developed with a little help from Porsche, hence the Stuttgart brand's name on its red brake calipers. Still looks great and with a 2.3-liter turbocharged in-line five, good for 311hp, it was incredibly quick in 1994.
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The first RS4 Avant V6
The next chapter in Audi's history of epic RS wagons was this car: the first RS4. Engine size and cylinder count increased markedly over the RS2 Avant, with this RS4 powered by a 2.7-liter twin-turbo V6 engine. It was good for 375hp and had enough performance in reserve to bother many American muscle cars in the year 2000.
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The first V8 RS wagon
It was inevitable that Audi's RS engineers would eventually show interest in making the larger A6 estate car platform quicker. This happened in 2002 with the first RS6, which was powered by a twin-turbo 4.2-liter V8, boosting 444hp. Here was a large German luxury car, with all-wheel drive and great winter driving ability. And in dry conditions, it could tail supercars in a standing start acceleration run.
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A screaming V8 which became legendary
After more than a decade of boosted RS station wagons, this is the RS4 which made things all-natural again. Loved by followers of the Audi brand like no other, the B7 RS4 debuted in 2006, and became an instant classic. With a six-speed stick shift and 4.2-liter naturally-aspirated V8, which could easily spin to 8000rpm, it was a true driver's delight. Rapid too, with 414hp under the hood.
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The RS4 Avant version two
With the B8 RS4, Audi kept the same wagon formula, but sharpened up the styling and found even more power. Available from 2012-2015, this RS4 was powered by an improved version of the 4.2-liter V8 engine, still naturally-aspirated, but now cranking out 450hp. The performance was phenomenal, which raised the ire of many two-door sportscar owners.
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You need a V10? With turbos? Well...
The iconic C6 RS6. In 2008 nobody expected Audi to build this car. Powered by a ten-cylinder engine, which shared its mechanical linage with Lamborghini's Gallardo, this RS6 was an absolute riot to drive. Not content with repurposing a 5-liter V10 from Lamborghini for an estate car, Audi's RS engineers then added turbochargers. The result was a wagon that remained elegant in appearance but was very purposeful. It could be no other way, with 572hp under the hood - which in 2008, mean that very few production road cars were capable of running away from an RS6.
>>Join the conversation about Audi's RS models right here in AudiWorld Forum.
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