2025 Audi RS6 Avant GT First Look Review: The Beefy Wagon With Race Car Looks (2024)

by Belinda Anderson

With just 85 examples of these coming stateside (and seven units headed to Canada), exclusivity is the name of the game - thus we don't have any information about the price of a 2025 Audi RS6 Avant GT just yet. We can use the regular RS6 Avant performance model as a starting point for an estimate, however, with that sexy station wagon starting at an MSRP of $125,800, before options and destination. We'd assume something this exclusive will cost at least $140k to start, if not more.

Traditional rivals to the RS6 Avant include the Mercedes-AMG E63 Wagon. That was last available in limited quantities for the 2023 model year but isn't nearly as exclusive as the Avant GT is, although it makes an impressive 603 hp at a cost upwards of $120,000. Porsche's alternative is the Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo for those who love the wagon look, and in Turbo S guise, that makes 620 hp and 604 lb-ft - good enough for a sub-three-second sprint. However, the 2024 and 2025 lineup is still being curated so there's not much that can really compete with the Avant GT at present.

The exterior of the new Audi RS Avant GT wagon is everything, as they say, and it's an homage to the Audi 90 quattro IMSA GTO. It's based on the RS6 GTO concept, pictured below with the concave white wheels and side-mounted exhaust. On the production-spec Audi RS6 Avant, the heritage decals and striking bodywork hark back to the famed sports car of the late 80s.

At the front, the Singleframe grille and large air intakes are decked out in gloss black to emphasize how low to the ground the car is and draw attention to its width. The front apron gets vertical blades in the front apron, and there's a new intake grille and bold front splitter. The hood has been fully redesigned and rendered in carbon fiber with a bespoke finish. There are also integrated air outlets behind the wheels to reduce air pressure in the wheel arch and aid in brake cooling. And, for the first time on an RS6 Avant, the fenders are carbon fiber too. Along the side, there are inserts in the side skirts and glossy carbon exterior mirrors.

At the back end, there is a distinctive pass-through roof edge spoiler, a redesigned diffuser, and a model-specific tailgate - the loading edge on this model has been visually lowered. In another first for an RS6 Avant, there are no roof rails on this wagon. US-spec wagons will get a standard power panoramic sunroof.

All models roll on 22-inch wheels as standard, but the designs are unique to the GT model and vary depending on how you choose to kit out the exterior of your 2025 RS6 Avant GT. When it comes to the exterior dress of the Audi RS6 Avant GT, buyers have the option to have their decals in one of two colors. The first uses the traditional Audi Sport colors - black, gray, and red - and this places the decals on an Arkona White finish with the model badging echoing the heritage scheme. Exclusively paired with this color combo are high-gloss white wheels.

The second option is having the decals in black and gray tones, with Nardo Gray or Mythos Black body paint as the main exterior colors on the Audi RS6 Avant GT. This then equips high gloss black or matte black wheels. Chronos Gray Metallic and Madeira Brown Metallic will also be available, but only the first option - Arkona White - will be available to US buyers.

Audi hasn't specified dimensions for the new RS6 Avant GT, and it's likely to differ from the regular RS6 Avant in some ways, thanks to changes to the bodywork and how the car is set up mechanically. The regular RS6 Avant performance sits on a 115.3-inch wheelbase, which is the only measurement we expect to carry over. The length of 196.7 inches and width of 76.8 inches will likely increase on the GT version, as will the height of 58.6 inches.

The base RS6 Avant has a curb weight of 4,982 lbs according to the automaker, but the Avant GT has been produced with various weight savings techniques - including loads of carbon fiber and lightweight suspension components - so this may be a little less.

The engine in the 2025 Audi RS6 Avant GT is the same one that does duty in the regular wagon. The 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 in the Avant GT makes 621 hp and 627 lb-ft from 2,300 rpm to 4,500 rpm - those are the same outputs we find on the RS6 Avant performance. Elsewhere in Europe, a 600-hp base model is sold that's a little slower than the RS6 Avant performance and this special Avant GT, but here in the USA, we already have this level of performance from the only RS6 Avant on sale here: 0-62 mph is dispatched 3.3 seconds and top speed arrives at 190 mph. RS carbon ceramic brakes will also bring this wagon to a stop.

Unique to the RS6 Avant GT is the standard lightweight adjustable coilover suspension and high-performance tires (Continental 'Sport Contact 7'), alongside an optimized quattro sport differential on the rear axle for superior driving dynamics. The coilover suspension drops the ride height by less than half an inch, gets a higher spring rate, triple adjustable dampers, and stiffer stabilizers - stiffer by up to 30% on the front and 80% on the rear - for minimum body roll. Buyers will be able to choose from the RS Sport suspension with Dynamic Ride Control or the RS adaptive air suspension.

Power goes to all four wheels via the familiar eight-speed Tiptronic gearbox, but shift times have been optimized. Like the Avant performance, this model also gets the lightweight locking center differential, which distributes power 40:60 to the front and rear, respectively. It will also detect slippage and send more torque to the axle that requires traction - up to 70% can be sent to the front, and up to 85% to the rear.

The specially tuned quattro sport differential improves agility and is rear-biased in 'Dynamic' drive mode. Still, Audi says that this isn't a track car - although owners may enjoy spending time at informal track events - and the point of the RS6 Avant GT is to still be a daily, comfortable car that provides enthusiastic drivers with a good time.

There's lots to unpack when it comes to the interior of the Audi RS6 Avant GT; although it's not unfamiliar, it gets some fresh color combinations and materials that we haven't seen before - and a center console plate that bears the car's serial number and identifies which one of the 660 models you have at your fingertips.

Inside the RS6 Avant GT, the RS Design package which is optionally available to the regular Avant is made standard, but it gets unique colors to set it apart. The black interior is highlighted by a combination of red and copper on the steering wheel stitching, the sides of the center console, all the armrests, and the floor mats. The seats in the Audi RS6 Avant GT are wrapped in a leather-Dinamica combo with the RS6 GT lettering in red/copper, and honeycomb stitching on the seat inserts with shimmers in Express Red. The outer seams are stitched in copper. US-spec models won't get bucket seats, however; they'll have RS6 Avant performance standard seats.

You will find Dinamica with black microfiber covering the armrests, dashboard, center console, and door waist rails. The decorative inlays are in Dinamica with deep black microfiber as standard, but there is the option to switch out for open-pore carbon twill structure. Accentuating all of this are red seatbelts.

Since Audi places great importance on the fact that even their RS halo cars should be practical and comfortable for daily use, it's likely that cargo space in the Audi RS6 Avant GT will remain at 30 cubic feet, which should double with the rear seats folded down.