Audi A6 vs Audi RS6

What's the difference?

The Subaru Outback has a lot to answer for. Way back in 1994 the Japanese brand created the high-riding wagon scene - and while the idea never really took off with most mainstream makers, European luxury brands seemingly loved the idea of a rugged estate. It’s another niche to fill, after all.

This led to the Volvo V70 Cross Country in 1997, and Audi followed suit with the A6-based Allroad quattro back in 1999. 

Other luxury brands have entered the fray since then, and obviously the market has proliferated with SUVs… but they’re not the same as a high-riding station wagon.

There has been evolution in the Audi Allroad line-up over time: in 2015 the company added the smaller A4 Allroad, while the original larger A6-based Allroad wagon continues to cop the rough-and-tumble treatment, as it has for decades now.

So, since the all-new Audi A6 Allroad has just arrived in Australia, we thought we’d see what it’s like. And perhaps more pertinently, maybe we’ll be able to answer the question that many of you probably have: Should you buy a high-riding wagon? Or is it smarter to just buy an SUV?

When I say this is a rare review, I’m talking about the kind of rare that means you can’t even buy the car you’re reading about.

The 2026 Audi RS6 Avant GT you’re looking at in the pictures around this story is number 248 of 660. That’s six-hundred and sixty worldwide.

In Australia, there are only 22 RS6 GTs, and they’re all sold - at exorbitant prices, mind you, but we’ll get to that.

The RS6 GT is essentially a production version of the Audi RS6 GTO concept, built in 2020 and inspired by the Audi 90 quattro IMSA GTO race car, which means the RS6 GT carries a lot of ‘90 GTO’ in the way it looks. More on that shortly.

Aside from its extremely limited availability and its design package, there are some mechanical changes to increase the appeal of the RS6 GT, though whether any of its owners will put the on-road (or on-track) ability of this special wagon from Ingolstadt to the test remains to be seen.

A couple of days to live with one of the few RS6 GTs in Australia should reveal how special this car feels, and result in at least one example of the rarity being driven good and proper.