Thirteen examples of no-holds-barred derivative coming to sound off big banger era.

LAST blast means leaving the scene loudly in every way - including the colour scheme - for the Audi RS 6 Avant.

The RS 6 GT is a valedictory hurrah that wraps up the model line’s enduring love affair with ballsy big bore petrol engines.

Just 660 are being built and, of those, 13 are coming to New Zealand, landing in the final quarter. 

Don’t see the allocation count as being a bad omen: Everything about this car suggests it is anything but an unlucky number.

The GT is based on the RS 6 Performance, the 469kW evolution of the 'regular' C8 RS 6, so that means uplifts of 22kW and 50Nm (850Nm peak) out of Audi's long-serving 4.0-litre biturbo V8. 

This means faster off the line and overall. The 0-100kmh time cuts from 3.6 to 3.3 seconds. Top speed is 305kmh. The standard RS 6 is limited to 280kmh.

Price has yet to be announced by Audi NZ, but for a barometer take note that the RS 6 Performance leaves $10 change from a $248k spend. 

Might that mean potential that the GT vies for placement as most expensive fossil fuelled RS here? If so, it will have to cost more than the current titleholder, the $265,990 RS Q8. That car. of course, is still cheaper than the dearest RS of all, the electric RS e-tron GT. That’s a $291,590 buy.

Having ability to go three times faster than the national limit isn’t the point of this RS 6. The car is all about being a more broadly rewarding experience. 

That comes about not just from giving it more phowar, but also by reducing the kilo count.

As for the rather outrageous look? Ingolstadt says the GT takes its inspiration from the RS 6 GTO concept car of 2020, which - in turn - was ‘informed' by the glorious Audi 90 quattro IMSA GTO racer of 1989. All three are in this photo below.

The wide, box-arched, saloon is patently referenced in the look of the RS 6 GT. That’s just a tricky of clever styling as, in fact, the GT is not any wider than any other RS 6.

The special design ingredients for this package include the 'Singleframe' grille and air intakes all being finished in high-gloss black, as well as the inclusion of vertical blades in the front apron. 

It also has a deeper, more menacing front splitter is incorporated into the front bumper, while around the sides are enhanced side skirts. At the back and perching atop the roof, is an impressive double-deck, 'pass-through' spoiler.

There are new air outlets behind the front wheels to reduce pressure in the wheel arches and simultaneously improve brake cooling, and a change to the base of the tailgate to visually lower the loading lip of the car and make it look broader. This last touch is assisted by a massive aerodynamic diffuser under the rear bumper that has more vertical vanes and a centrally mounted, upright reflector.

The bespoke front wings and the bonnet of the RS 6 GT are all made of carbon fibre - the first time any production Audi has received such items. The bonnet is painted on the outside, but lift it and the carbon-fibre underside is exposed in its natural weave.

Those  six-spoke 22-inch wheels? The rims are forged and lighter than the standard alloys and are shod with Continental SportContact 7 tyres.

Notice it’s the first RS 6 Avant without roof rails. The deletion of these subtly gives the car a much sleeker, lower and sportier appearance.

All this effort is to cut kilos. The car is 15kg lighter at the kerb than an RS 6 performance and 25kg lighter than the standard RS 6. But it still clocks 2075kg.

There’s some unique badging that’s relatively discreet and the whole Audi Sport-inspired body graphic which is, well, clearly not.

The factory has come up two 'wraps' that can be chosen with Arkona White, Nardo Grey and Chronos Grey metallic, three of the five available body colours. The others being Madeira Brown metallic and then Mythos Black metallic. 

With the white the 22-inch wheels are painted in the same colour, while the black, grey and red livery is a direct nod to that IMSA GTO and the RS 6 GTO concept. 

The latter is coming to NZ-new product; if you see a car as in the photos here, it’ll be an import.

On Nardo and Mythos cars, the look has the decals switching to black and grey, while the wheels are either high-gloss or matte black.

Inside, the RS 6 GT gains the RS Design Package as standard, which is then enhanced with various model-specific touches. This means there is a lot of Dinamica microfibre within, as well as exclusively coloured stitching for the GT in red and copper. 

The floor mats gain 'RS 6 GT' emblems, as do the RS bucket seats - carbon-backed of course. Decorative inlays are finished in black microfibre as standard, or open-pore carbon twill as an option.Seatbelts are in Crimson Red, while the centre console bears each car's individual build number.

The quattro all-wheel drive and an eight-speed Tiptronic transmission have been enhanced, thanks to the rear-axle-mounted quattro sport differential having its own state of tune specific to the GT to promote more tail-happy driving characteristic. 

The type also has the latest locking centre differential seen on the RS 6 performance, which favours a 40:60 front-to-rear torque split most of the time, with maximums of 70 percent front and 85 percent rear torque possible.

Stopping power will clearly count. The GT has RS ceramic braking system as standard.

A big chassis tweak is from the GT gaining coilover suspension with three-way adjustable dampers. This system requires adjustment via the suspension turrets' top mounts, rather than by doing it in-car from a button. Both the RS 4 and RS 5 have been offered with 'competition' packages which included this technology and the rear-biased sport diff, but it’s a first for RS 6.

A 10mm-lower ride height than a regular RS 6, higher spring rates and stiffer anti-roll bars (30 percent front, 80 percent rear) are also featured. Sounds too much? The factory is able to kit the car with RS Sport suspension with Dynamic Ride Control, or full RS Adaptive Air suspension.

The final difference of the GT is that, unlike other RS6 models, it is not entirely assembled on the main production line in Neckarsulm in Germany. Instead, it goes off to the net-carbon-neutral facility at nearby Bollinger Hofe, where the R8 supercar and e-tron GT are produced, to be hand-finished by seven specially trained employees. Here, all the GT-specific features, such as the bonnet, the wings, the rear wing, the front and rear bumpers and the adjustable coilover suspension, are fitted. That takes a day.

In supplied comment, Audi New Zealand general manager Greg Leet offers that the RS 6 has always been the pinnacle of this market’s RS offering “and we know Kiwis love it.”

“Almost 25 percent of our overall volume is made up of RS models, and with New Zealand set to receive only 13 of these limited editions we expect there won’t be enough to meet demand. 

“This vehicle also comes with a level of detail both in its performance and design which is rarely seen in the premium market. It won’t be until we see it here in New Zealand that we can truly appreciate what has gone into producing this super exclusive model.”