2025 Audi RS6 Avant GT Is a 621-HP Tribute to an IMSA Racing Legend

It’ll gap a regular RS6 on its way to a 190 mph top speed, and look unbelievable doing it.

byJames Gilboy|
2025 Audi RS6 Avant GT
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Ingolstadt has hinted for a long time now that the ferocious Audi RS6 Avant super-wagon is nowhere near its final form. Well, the more extreme, more "special" car we've been waiting for is finally here. It's the 2025 Audi RS6 Avant GT, an IMSA-inspired throwback that'll upset some supercars.

The RS6 Avant GT's muse is one of the race cars that put Audi on the map in the United States, the Audi 90 IMSA GTO. The shortlived wonder competed only in the 1989 season of the IMSA GT Championship, where it won seven races, leading to the ban of all-wheel drive. It's considered foundational for Audi's now accomplished circuit racing program, making it the perfect car to pass its genes on to a 190-mph wagon.

2025 Audi RS6 Avant GT. Audi

The GT is heavily altered from the regular RS6, so much so that it's 0.3 seconds quicker from zero to 60 mph, and reaches 124 a whole 1.5 seconds sooner. We're talking 3.3 seconds and 11.5 seconds respectively. It gets there using a whole raft of upgrades, affecting everything from the engine to body and aerodynamics

Its twin-turbo, 4.0-liter V8 has been pumped with 30 extra horsepower and 37 pound-feet of torque, for a total of 621 hp and 627 lb-ft. Its eight-speed automatic transmission shifts quicker, and an upgraded center diff from the RS6 Avant Performance makes the jump, while a more aggressive rear differential is all-new. The front end is lightened by a carbon fiber hood, fenders, mirror caps, and bumper, and the rear's carbon too. There's a functional diffuser back there, plus a taller double-deck spoiler.

These naturally benefit handling too, along with adjustable coilovers that drop the ride height 0.4 inches. The sway bars are stiffer, and the upsized 22-inch wheels fit enormous 285-section Continental Sport Contact 7 tires. These, in addition to standard ceramic brakes, cut the 62-mph-to-zero braking distance by 6.6 feet.

The interior comes in a new color scheme with red and copper stitching, and a standard RS Design Plus Package along with unique RS6 GT seats and floor mats. U.S. models don't get the bucket seats, but we do get a standard panoramic sunroof in place of roof rails.

2025 Audi RS6 Avant GT. Audi

The 2025 Audi RS6 Avant GT will be built in Böllinger Höfe where the R8 was made, and 85 of the 660 sold globally will be brought to us. And yes, there'll be a numbered plaque on the dash somewhere. That's half the fun to some people.

Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com

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