Audi’s new RS6 is as quick as an Aston One-77

Do you own an Aston One-77? A Ferrari F50? A Lexus LFA? Or, for that matter, a McLaren Mercedes SLR, Porsche Carrera GT or Maserati MC12?

Drive any of these and you ought to familiarise yourself with the practical estate car in the pictures above. That’s because Audi’s updated RS6 will probably beat you away from the lights.

Audi, in its infinite wisdom, has decided the RS6 (and its RS7 Sportback sibling, below) needs more power. With 552bhp, it was hardly lacking in the first place, but now the big brute's twin-turbocharged V8 has been boosted to 597bhp and 553lb ft via extra rpm and boost pressure – respective rises of 45bhp and 37lb ft.

These enable a slicing from the RS6's hardly tardy acceleration figures, dropping the Avant's 0-62mph to a frankly baffling 3.7 seconds. That’s quick enough to embarrass some of the last decade’s more iconic supercars.

Okay, so it has a chunk more power than some of the cars we’ve listed above. But it also has nearly two tonnes to hustle along, and a body shape far bluffer than any Aston or Ferrari’s. Audi, don’t forget, can also be a little conservative with its performance claims…

The power hike comes as part of a new ‘Performance’ pack option, much like the upgrade that makes the Audi S8 Plus quicker than a Ferrari F40.

Tick the right boxes and the RS6's top speed will rise from 155 to 189mph, while 0-124mph takes 12.1 seconds. A base Audi A1 will just have passed 62mph over the same time period. And as the pictures testify, none of the extra performance comes at the expensive of interior plushness.

Both RS6 and RS7 Performance models share the same performance boasts, while Audi says their environmental figures are no different to their skinnier-powered base cars. Good luck achieving that claimed 29mpg, however.

If you’re buying either of these, though, we’d wager running costs aren’t pegged highly in your priority list. The RS6 Performance costs £86,000, while the RS7 Performance is priced at £91,600.

That plonks the Performance pack on the uncomfortable side of £6,000. But with One-77 values topping £2 million, you could argue it’s quite the bargain…