- Powertrain: Hits Like A Sledgehammer
- On The Road: Close To Perfection
- Design: Minor Updates
- Interior: Staying Classy
- Verdict: The Last Car You’ll Ever Need
- Bronze Edition: A Daunting Rearview Mirror Experience
If you have a one-car garage but a ton of money, pick one of these.
The Audi RS6 and RS7 (a wagon and liftback sedan, respectively) are insanely fast yet incredibly comfortable cars. Think of all the performance of an Audi R8 but the practicality, convenience, and comfort of a family sedan or wagon, making them easily the best one-car garages an enthusiast could dream of. Both are incredible, if expensive, cars parallel in performance; it's just a case of preference in body style. Now imagine if Audi decided to make them better. That's exactly what the German brand did, resulting in the 2024 Audi RS6 performance and RS7 performance. The 'performance' nomenclature may be written in lowercase, per Audi, but there's nothing lowercase about the updates here.
Audi Sport putting in the man-hours to push the duo even closer to perfection with subtle updates that are incredibly meaningful, particularly those made under the hood: Larger turbochargers fitted to the 4.0-liter biturbo V8 engine wrangle an extra dose of horsepower and torque, delivering 621 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque… and that's just the beginning.
Fortunately, Audi brought both along to Northern California for us to drive, so naturally, we hopped behind the wheel of the RS6 for the longest launch stint to make the most of a photographer's dream of a color.
Powertrain: Hits Like A Sledgehammer
Power is just the headline for the RS6 and RS7 performance models. It's put down to the ground through Audi's signature quattro all-wheel-drive system, now featuring an updated and lighter mechanical self-locking center differential and updated transmission software for even quicker gear shifting. We don't say “even quicker gear shifting” lightly, as it's not something we felt needed upgrading from the previous year's model.
The result is a 0-60 mph time of 3.3 seconds, a thoroughly entertaining 3.3 seconds full of noise and drama. There's even more noise now as Audi Sport pulled out some sound-deadening material between the engine bay and cabin. Couple that with an optional RS sport exhaust that enhances sound even more, and it's a ballistic experience that stimulates all the senses. If you can afford an RS6 or RS7, you can afford the RS sport exhaust, and trust us; you want it.
On The Road: Close To Perfection
It's been more than a year since your faithful writer was last behind the wheel of an RS6 or RS7, but there isn't a night and day difference between the pre-update and 'performance' variants, at least on the road in a real-world scenario. We're sure the updates would become vastly more apparent on the track, where you can exploit the cars to their fullest.
That doesn't mean they're not absolutely joyful on a suitably twisty road, particularly when switchbacks are involved. We spent the most time pushing the RS6 around, drinking in its aggressive approach to nailing corners and then attacking straights. Corners come at you hilariously fast, made even more humorous when you remember you're driving a wagon that can easily accommodate a family and pile of luggage. It blurs the line between practicality and a supercar in spectacular fashion with its speed, poise, and cornering ability. However, there's something more visceral about the driving experience than we've experienced in more than just a few of the current crop of supercars, which are all insanely capable at the expense of something else… joy.
The most noticeable difference is in the suspension packages. The air suspension setup gives a smoother ride in its more placid drive settings, while the standard suspension is firmer throughout. And yet it's not uncomfortable at any point, even in the sportiest setting.
Design: Minor Updates
Looks are subjective, and we subjectively love the styling of both body styles and love that Audi has opted for contemporary styling that puts them right here and right now. After driving the RS6 for a while, we got out, stepped back, and looked at it again, then decided it's the vehicular equivalent of a UFC fighter in a Zegna suit. For shoes, a set of cast aluminum 21-inch five-Y-spoke star wheels are standard and can be upgraded to 22-inch forged and mill-cut to save 11 pounds of unsprung weight on each corner. They're now wrapped in Continental Sport Contact 7 tires that Audi says offer better grip on dry and wet roads and help reduce understeer.
The quick way to identify the refresh is that the RS duo in 'performance' guise now features matte gray exterior trim, including the roof rails on the RS6. Two new standard exterior colors are available: Grenadier Red metallic and Ascari Blue metallic. The RS6 we drove arrived from Germany in Dew Silver metallic matte. It's a beautiful color and finish, but not on the standard list.
Interior: Staying Classy
The overall design and layout stay the same for the 2024 model year, but the 'RS design package plus' offers gray, red, and blue color options. The blue package is the boldest option, with blue seatbelts and a carbon twill structure inlay with blue stitching on the dashboard. The gray and red packages have black seatbelts featuring a matching border and the standard carbon twill structure inlay. Whichever you choose, the interior is littered with Alcantara, Dinamica microfiber, color-matched stitching, and Valcona leather upholstery.
The standard 12.3-inch Audi virtual cockpit plus gets some minor upgrades, including the choice of switching between black digital dials and white, with the white dials inspired by the legendary 1997 Audi S6 plus. In manual mode, the shift indicator now cycles green to yellow to red and blinks like a race car when it's time to shift gears.
Verdict: The Last Car You’ll Ever Need
Declaring a car as being the last car you ever need doesn't mean it's the last car you'll ever want. But, if by some bizarre circumstance, you want a supercar and have around $130,000 to spend but also have a family and only a one-car garage, then an RS6 is an easy car to recommend. Having an unlimited allocation of spots in your garage doesn't diminish the appeal of the RS6 and RS7, either, though, as both are cultured cruisers perfectly suited for the daily commute and equally as adept as raising hell on a snaking back road or your local track.
There are some cons to the RS siblings worth bearing in mind. The price of gas is likely only going to rise, and the RS6 and RS7 drink gas like a recently-divorced uncle at a wedding reception. The touch-capacitive infotainment can be frustrating to use as it needs pressure from the fingers. And, if you're going to push the car to its limits, you'll want the carbon ceramic brakes, which are expensive.
On the plus side, the RS6 is less expensive than a Panamera GTS Sport Turismo while being more unique; neither car is obnoxiously styled and won't draw attention from people you don't want noticing you.
Did we mention they're fast as hell, handle and grip like supercars, but are also as practical and comfortable as your average premium sedan or crossover?
Bronze Edition: A Daunting Rearview Mirror Experience
The RS6 and RS7 are already exclusive cars, but a new Bronze Edition pushes that further, with just 75 RS6 and 50 RS7 models being produced in this spec.
If you absolutely must have something special and don't want to run the risk of ever encountering another car like yours in the wild, the special edition comes with Sebring Black crystal effect paint, 22-inch neodymium gold-finished wheels, black painted steel brake calipers, and a Gloss Carbon exterior package.
The cabin doesn’t escape without change, sporting an exclusive Valcona leather package and bronze contrast interior stitching along with things like exclusive doormats and a Bang & Olufsen Advanced sound system. Its limiter is set for 174 mph at the track over the other model’s 155 mph.
We can tell you from experience that seeing a Bronze Edition looming up in the rearview mirror is something to be appreciated.
Keyword: 2024 Audi RS6 Performance And RS7 Performance First Drive Review: Positively Sizzling