Audi RS6 - The Lazy Shaver’s Friend

I like Audis. In a world where build quality has been compromised for the sake of mass-market appeal (did someone say Mercedes?), and when quick cars seem to have to shout their credentials from the rooftops (hello Mitsubishi, Subaru et al), Audi have become a haven of understated , high quality performance cars. True, the new R8 is not exactly understated, but we’re talking saloons and estates here (or Avants, as Audi insists on calling them), not Supercars, which the R8 most certainly is.

Owning a Supercar is a wonderful, privileged position to be in. But quite honestly (with the possible exception of a Porsche 911) it’s not every day you want to jump in and drive it. It can be a real hassle if you’re not in the mood. You don’t exactly merge in to the background in an F430 or a Gallardo, never mind an SLR or, heaven forbid, a Veyron (you can’t drive for more than 100yds in a Veyron without people pointing camera phones from every direction - you expect to be ‘Beamed Up’ at any minute!). So what do you do if you have the joy of owning one of the world’s great cars, but there are days when you haven’t shaved, and the clothes you’ve got on, wonderfully comfortable though they are, make you look like a refugee from a 1980s Oxfam shop? Simple. You do what the clever money does - you buy a quick Audi.

Audi have introduced the new RS6 (sadly not for sale until 2008) and it certainly raises the bar a notch or two. Powered by a 5.2 litre V10 (thank you Lamborghini), and promises 0-60 times of around 4.5 seconds and the usual (limited) 155mph top speed. I do love these cars (the A6 is such a good car) and this promises to be a very ‘Peachy’ car indeed. Sensible, refined, understated and very, very quick. But actually, and I’m going to contradict myself here, not quite as understated as you might think. The reason is simple. Although on the face of it the RS6 looks very similar to its lesser siblings, there are an awful lot of people out there who know their cars, and want to know “What’s it like?”

I was sat in a Waitrose car park a couple of weeks ago, gently minding my own business, whilst my Lady & Mistress (sounds more appropriate than Lord & Master - and more interesting) restocked the cupboards, and we were in a very understated, and quite quick, Audi A6. Did I melt in to the background? Well, yes and no. Most people passed us by (me and the dogs that is - not me and the car), but several stopped to ask the ubiquitous question “What’s it like?”. But there was one big difference. I didn’t feel on show. It was the car they liked, and in their eyes I was just a bloke in an Audi. A slightly mud-spattered (the dogs do find the mud in the woods - as anyone who owns Jack Russells will know), unshaven and scruffy bloke in an Audi, admittedly. But that didn’t matter. I was approachable. People like Audis and, it would seem, Audi drivers. I didn’t need to be buffed and polished and posing. And that makes the new Audi RS6 the perfect car in my eyes. Mouth-wateringly quick, but driven by a nice bloke!

Audi RS6 - The lazy shaver’s friend.