Tuner ABT Will Build 25 Audi RS6-based Super Wagons With 690 HP
Image: ABT Sportsline
I think we can all agree that Audi’s RS6 Avant is one of the coolest cars of the last decade. What’s not to love about a twin-turbo V8 AWD mega wagon? Well, okay, it’d be cooler if it had a manual transmission. And were available in brown. Where were we? Oh, right! ABT Sportsline is here to make that mega wagon into a super wagon. Hyper wagon? The limited-to-twenty-five-units ABT Audi RS6+ is what happens when an old-school tuning company gets its hands on every single system in the car. Badassery.
Immediately noticeable is the exterior carbon fiber aero and trim package. It’s extensive, as you’d expect it to be. This car is all about excess, and to that end it features carbon on the front lip, canards, mirrors, grille trim, side skirts, rear valance and roof spoiler. All of that carbon trim is coated in gloss, so you can stunt on everyone at the cars and coffee.
Obviously this car is more than about looking good, as it cranks up the handling capability of the already bonkers Audi. ABT has also fitted the car with special home-grown stiff anti-roll bars for better on-track performance. To keep the car glued to the road, a bespoke set of 22-inch wheels and sticky tires are bolted on, one to each corner. It doesn’t hurt that the wheels look pretty damn cool.
Image: ABT Sportsline
The biggest part of the package that you’ll notice from behind the wheel is the power increase. Thankfully, ABT hasn’t had to so much as swap the turbochargers for this RS6+ build, as the engine remains all factory. With just a stainless cat-back exhaust to free up some backpressure and provide some massive 4-inch tips out back, and a “sophisticated ABT Engine Control unit” the 4-liter V8 is cranked up to 690 horsepower and 649 lb-ft of torque when you fill the tank with high test. That’s an impressive jump over the stock 591 horsepower and 590 foot-lubs that Audi gives you.
The final pieces of the puzzle are found in the special interior components that ABT has drummed up. The shift knob, shifter paddles behind the wheel, and dashboard trim have been swapped out for carbon fiber to give a visual interior hint as to what you’re driving. Tack on some “1 of 25” sill plates and special RS6+ floor mats, and you’ve got a mild taste that this is more than just a ‘normal’ RS6.
ABT doesn’t specify exactly what the plus package will cost, but if the lower-tier RS6-S package (which consists of carbon trim, wheels, anti-roll bars, and sport exhaust) will run you $36,500. Tack on another ten grand or so for the interior trim and the 100 horsepower bump, and you’re probably in the right ballpark. So that’s around 45 grand on top of your already $116,000 Audi wagon, but with only 25 built, you’re not likely to see another one on the street. And, I mean, can you think of a cooler dad-mobile?
