You’d think that after six years on the road, the Audi RS6 Avant would be quietly shuffling towards retirement, maybe working on its memoirs, or taking up gardening. After all, Audi has already rolled out a shiny new generation of A6 — the C9 — in a wagon flavour, no less. The smart money said RS6 sales would taper off, replaced by the lure of newer toys.

Well, the smart money was wrong. Spectacularly wrong.

In the first half of this year, RS6 Avant demand hasn’t just gone up — it’s exploded, with a 41% jump compared to the same time last year. That’s the biggest surge since the car first landed, and the sort of number usually reserved for things like Taylor Swift ticket sales or limited-edition Lego sets.

Why? The answer probably lies under the bonnet. The current RS6 is the last one you’ll be able to buy with a pure, glorious 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 (630 horsepower), backed only by a mild-hybrid system. No plug-in battery packs. No silent creeping through the suburbs like a guilty burglar. Just the full-fat, petrol-drinking thump we all know and love.

Its rivals? Mercedes-AMG’s E63 T and BMW’s incoming M5 Touring have gone plug-in hybrid, which means — yes — more power, but also the kind of kerb weight that makes a sumo wrestler look malnourished. The RS6, by contrast, still feels like it’s playing for the old team: fewer cables, more noise.

Audi Sport has already confirmed that future RS cars won’t be dabbling with puny four-cylinders, and a new RS6 Avant is brewing in Ingolstadt with a hybridised V8 at its core. The mules are out testing, and a smaller RS4 Avant (with a V6) is in the works too.

But before that, in September, Audi Sport will pull the covers off a concept car inspired by the original TT — a little reminder of when Audi design decided to go full Bauhaus on the automotive world.

Until then, the current RS6 Avant remains the people’s champion: fast, loud, slightly ridiculous, and somehow more desirable at the end of its life than at the beginning. A bit like Sean Connery.

Source: Audi