Ever since it came out back in 2002, the Audi RS6 Avant has always been the gold standard for what a performance wagon should be. Now that it’s in its fourth generation, Carwow’s Mat Watson decided to pit each generation against each other in a series of races to see how far the model has come in the past 19 years.
First up is a comparison of the cars’ specs. The current C8 generation RS6 Avant has 591 hp (600 PS / 441 kW) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) of torque, the C7 has 597 hp (605 PS / 445 kW) and 553 lb-ft (750 nm), the C6 has 571 hp (579 PS / 426 kW) and 479 lb-ft (650 Nm), and the C5 has 444 hp (450 PS / 331 kW) and 428 lb-ft (580 nm). Three out of four have V8 engines, with the exception being the C6 that packs a V10 under its hood.
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The first drag race’s finishing results were somewhat unexpected. The C7 finished first, followed by the C8, C6, and C5. However, the most surprising thing was probably the C6’s performance. Despite having over 125 hp more than the C5, it didn’t finish that much further ahead, and given it has only around 20 hp less than the C7 and C8, it didn’t finish too close behind them either. The second and third drag races as well as the quarter mile comparison all finish exactly as you’d expect, with the C8 finishing first, the C7 finishing second, the C6 in third, and the C5 in dead last.
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The four Audis then engage in two rolling races from 50 mph (80 km/h), with the first one seeing a similar result to the first drag race since the C8 no longer has the advantage of launch control to make up for its slightly lower power-to-weight ratio. However, the subsequent one sees a more predictable result, with the finishing order being C8, C7, C6, then C5 by a long margin.
To see the races in full detail, you can check out video below.