The Audi RS6 is a 5-door Avant (estate/wagon), / 4-door saloon/sedan from Audi, built from 2002 to 2025, in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. Under the bonnet: 4.2 V8 biturbo.
The story
The Audi RS 6 is a high-performance variant of the Audi A6 range, produced by the high-performance subsidiary company Audi Sport GmbH, for its parent company Audi AG, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, from 2002 onwards. The first and second versions of the RS 6 were offered in both Avant and saloon forms. The third and fourth generations are only offered as an Avant.
What is underneath
Power comes from 4.2 V8 biturbo; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. It weighs 1840 kg. It shifts through a Tiptronic automatic. The layout matters: drive goes to all four wheels, which is what lets the power be used on a wet road. The wheelbase is 2759 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
Its family tree is legible: its successor was the C6 RS 6 (Typ 4F); assembly was at Neckarsulm, Germany. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Kia Sorento, the Porsche Cayenne, the Honda Accord — show what else the money bought that year. Nearby in the Audi catalogue sit the Audi 200 and the Audi 225.
What it costs now
The money question first: $43,100–$86,500 is the typical asking range today, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $4,805–$5,915 a year. Insurance sits around $2,580–$4,490 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.