Hot Audi wagons join local line-up

Audi has added two new hotshoe models to its local line-up -- and they're both wagons... And both at the very pointy end of their respective market segments in terms of performance.

Launched yesterday in the wilds of Tasmania, the RS6 Avant might have five doors but it is a new performance flagship for the whole Audi marque. It will find just 70 new owners Down Under per year. Meanwhile, at the more affordable end of the market, S3 Sportback is half-hatch-half-wagon and adds an extra level of practicality to the all-wheel drive hot hatch segment -- as well as Audi's respected S line-up.

Audi builds just one RS model at a time. The new RS6 replaces the outgoing B7 A4 based RS4.

Like the RS4, the 6 will eventually be available in both sedan and wagon formats. It's the wagon that kicks off proceedings, however, joining a long tradition of hot haulers from Ingolstadt. Indeed, Avants launched the RS line of uber-performance Audis with the RS2 back in the 1990s.

The latest iteration wears the mantle of the world's most powerful production wagon. Powered by a twin-turbo version of the V10 that sits proudly in the nose of the S6 and S8, the engine produces stats that are normally considered in the realms of supercars. How's 426kW, 650Nm, 0-100km/h in 4.6sec and 0-200km/h in 14.9sec sound?

Like a Lamborghini Gallardo as it turns out -- not least because that's from where the engine is derived. This time, in the case of the RS6, the engine is destroked from 5.2 to 5.0 litres, wears two conventional (ie: not variable geometry) turbochargers and features direct fuel-injection. (Audi says it's also more frugal than the twin-turbo 4.2-litre 331kW V8 in the last RS6, but we're wondering who cares.)

Peak power of the V10 is above 6250rpm, but every bit of that torque is available across almost the full rev range -- from 1500-6250rpm. Awe inspiring! Audi claims each kilowatt has just 3.5kg to move…

Attempting to tame the grunt is a refined asymmetric (rear-biased) quattro all-wheel-drive system and a worked six-speed automatic gearbox. The latter delivers DSG-style sharp and fast (0.1sec) changes and must rank -- with the new Lexus IS F eight-speeder -- as one of the best sporting autos on the planet.

Riding on 20-inch wheels, the RS6 get's Audi's latest Sports Suspension with DRC (Dynamic Ride Control). Adjustable via the car's menu-style MMI system (along with 'normal' things like nav, audio, etc), the suspension offers Comfort, Dynamic and Sport settings. Comfort delivers roughly the same level of compliance as a Sport setting on most execs -- from there things just get stiffer. Sport, the last of those settings is so punishingly hard it'll only ever get used on a racetrack.

Standard brakes are massive 390/356mm (fr/rr) full-floating discs gripped by multi-piston (six up front) calipers. For the real performance aficionados there's a racetrack-style ceramic braking package offered as an option. If you intend to drive your RS hard, we'd tick the box.

Dubbed a 'brand beacon' by Audi Oz, the RS6 is priced accordingly, starting at an eye-watering $270, 946. That makes it (currently) the most expensive wagon sold Down Under -- around $25K more than Benz's bahn-burning E 63 AMG Estate. And that price is before you option up the $20,867 ceramic brake package or $4449 adaptive cruise control.

In reality the car is comprehensively equipped -- lashings of leather, a cacophony of carbon fibre and in the load area a (very necessary: Audi claims the RS6 can generate 1.2g in corners!) luggage restraint system. Indeed, compared to most other models in the Audi (and BMW and Benz!) line-up, there's a relatively modest options list offered for the RS6.

Audi expects a significant number of owners will choose the ceramic brakes, in fact that's already the case with the 50-plus local orders the maker is holding on the RS6. Not sure about the optional speed 'de-restriction' download that takes the limit on the RS6's top speed from 250km/h to beyond 280!

Though not in the supercar performance league, Audi's S3 Sportback is no slouch boasting the same 188kW/330Nm turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol four and revised quattro all-wheel drive as its three-door counterpart. The S3 knocks over the 0-100km/h sprint in under six seconds and in Germany would happily hit its 250km/h electronic limiter.

A welcome and practical extension to the A3/S3 range, the five-door is expected to bring a worthwhile boost to the total sales numbers of the smallest of the marque's S road-performance range. Audi Australia also believes the car will eventually account for up to 70 per cent of total S3 volume.

Considering it gives nothing away in terms of overall performance to its three-door counterpart, we're unlikely to argue.

Priced from $68,310, the S3 Sportback is, however, an expensive mini-Avant and carries a near-$2000 premium over the S3 hatch ($66,403). Some of the S3 models on the drive program wore pricetags of beyond $80K. Ouch!

Aside from the extra doors, there's little mechanically different between the Sportback and its hatch counterpart. The five-door's extra 72mm length is all in rear overhang -- both cars ride on the same 2578mm wheelbase (also shared with their kissing cousin, the VW Golf GTI) -- delivering a useful load area. Rear seat comfort is good, provided the driver is not 190cm tall.

The one area the Sportback lags behind its sibling and the VW is the availability of a twin-clutch transmission option. Though the three-door S3 offers Audi's version of DSG called S tronic, the Sportback is six-speed manual only. The good news is production of S tronic-equipped S3 Sportbacks has commenced in Europe so expect the model range to expand to include the flappy-paddle variant some time in 2009.

In the meantime, the S3 Sportback offers a range of 'big car' options including Audi Magnetic Ride adjustable suspension ($2400), Audi Park Assist (that offers auto parallel parking, $950) sunroof, roof rail and wheel and trim options. Note the above retail price does not include metallic paint -- that's another $1300 or so!

We sampled both the S3 Sportback and RS6 on a 600km-plus drive through Tasmania yesterday and can vouch for the sheer straight-line performance of the big bomber and agility of its stablemate. Indeed, it was a rare occasion where the RS6 could show the S3 a clean set of heels, such is the dynamic ability and balanced performance of the smaller car.

The RS6's straight-line acceleration is in a different realm from 'normal' cars however. It's one of the rare four-wheelers that can take advantage of overtaking opportunities normally reserved for motorcycles. It is blindingly fast.

You pay for all that pace when it comes to the twisty bits and under brakes. Unlike most modern day performance and uber-performance sedans who boast handling and braking that is foolproof, the RS6 deserves and demands respect. Though it never misbehaved during our drive, it was very lively under hard braking and required a deliberate and demonstrative approach to driving it quick. Point-to-point pace is not effortless -- in contrast to the sheer chuckability of the S3.

Look out for our launch reviews of the Audi RS6 and S3 Sportback soon.

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