I’m not sure what possessed Audi to launch a 621-horsepower, 4,600-pound RS6 Avant GT around the tight, twisty Streets of Willow Springs racetrack. They also asked me not to drive too hard to avoid wearing out my tires on a 105-degree day. You can’t win ’em all.
| Brief Specifications | 2025 Audi RS6 Avant GT |
| Machine | Twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 engine |
| Output | 621 Horsepower / 625 Pound-Feet |
| Speed 0-60 mph | 3.2 Seconds |
| Heavy | 4,574 pounds |
| Price | $236,000 (estimate) |
The RS6 Avant GT is essentially an Audi RS6 Avant Performance with a few visual changes. It features special wheels painted in body-matching white—modeled after fast Audis of old—and Audi Sport livery covering a slightly modified chassis. The front fenders and hood are made of carbon fiber, the fender vents are more aggressive, and beneath the large grille is an upgraded cooler to help cope with the demands of the track.
Inside, “RS6 GT” logos are emblazoned on the seats, door sill plates and carpet, while the Audi Sport tricolor motif is visible on every stitch. Completing the party are three-way adjustable shock absorbers to help stiffen and lower the superwagon.
The car was originally a Skunkworks project conceived by Audi engineers who wanted to commemorate a certain historic Audi race car: the Audi 90 Quattro IMSA GTO. On the earliest prototypes, the engineers made the car’s side exhausts louder and more prominent, but pesky things like “emissions” and “noise regulations” prevented it from making it to production. Damn.
Still, this car is special. Rather than being built with an engine like a regular RS6, the GT will be hand-finished on its own production line. Audi will build just 660 examples, each numbered and engraved on the center console; even fewer will make it to North America, with just 85 destined for the U.S. and seven for Canada.
On the track, the RS6 GT is… a performance RS6. The difference, even with the adjustable dampers, is negligible. It may even be noticeable. softer than normal without the active damper trick that is present on standard cars.
The GT, however, corners flat and changes direction with a rush; you can feel the troubled tires rolling over mid-corner and giving up. I know somewhere in Germany an Audi engineer will wince every time a journalist says “understeer,” but there’s no other appropriate description of the GT’s handling.
To be fair to the car, Streets of Willow is probably the worst-case scenario. It’s a tight track that rewards small, light, and agile cars—something the RS6 Avant is clearly not. Even Audi admits that the RS6 GT isn’t a track-only car, but it can do a fun lap when needed.
As far as this overweight class of European performance sedans go, the RS6 GT is fun and more communicative than something like a BMW M3 xDrive, at least. But it’s still a big car. If ever a car could be the definition of, “If I fit, I sit,” then this is it, on this track, in any corner.
But that's not the crux of the matter.
The RS6 GT is an Audi for die-hard Audi enthusiasts, not a car that appeals to people who want a new daily driver. It’s aimed at people who know exactly who won the 1984 Rally Argentina, or who consider Hans-Joachim Stuck and Walther Röhrl household names. It’s an emotional play on a historic Audi race car, outfitted with unique factory parts that will make any die-hard European enthusiast go crazy for it.
So who cares if it’s just a livery and a suspension? If you do, you’re probably not someone who’s going to spend over $200,000 on one of these. The RS6 GT is cool.
