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2013 Audi RS6 Avant [w/video]

Latest, Greatest Autobahn Bomber Will Not Be Denied - Except To Us
Back in 2008, I was fortunate enough to test the second-generation Audi RS6 Avant in southern France on the supremely well-sorted circuit at Le Castellet, a.k.a. Paul Ricard. I was thrown out there with the 572-horsepower bi-turbo 5.0-liter V10-equipped behemoth behind one of Audi's DTM pros and was convinced in short order that the flaming hippo in my hands was going to get the better of me on one or another of the track's tight esses. I made it out alive and invigorated, of course, but knew that that RS6 Avant was the heaviest that these thunderwagons should ever be allowed to get. At around 4,650 pounds with driver aboard, it was just way more lateral momentum at speed than any pilot needs on a track - or for that matter, on a favorite hot curving road.
Now it's time for the 2013 Audi RS6 Avant to lay us out with a flying scissor kick from the corner ropes. This version of the highway and byway marauder from Quattro GmbH is a decidedly greater piece of work than was the car I drove in 2008. This time, there will only be the Avant body configuration - no RS6 sedan - and, as with the previous generation, North America won't be at the receiving end when deliveries start at the end of July this year.

Audi to launch 600-hp RS6 Avant Plus?

Much to the dismay of many - but apparently not enough - there's a whole category of power wagons available overseas that we just can't get our hands on. While the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Estate and Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon are both available Stateside, the recently revised Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake, the Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake we recently drove at the Nürburgring and the Audi RS6 Avant remain out of reach for American buyers. They all stand on more-or-less equal footing, with forced-induction V8s producing around 550 horsepower. But Audi is apparently taking things over and above with a new RS6 Plus.
Revealed ahead of schedule on a British dealer's website (which leaked details accompanied by a stock photo of the existing model), the RS6 Avant Plus will apparently keep the same 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, but upgrade from 560 hp to a nice, round 600 to put it ahead of the competition and in league with supercars. Considering that the existing RS6 Avant is already capable of cracking the four-second barrier to 60 and tops out at over 190 miles per hour, we're sure the Plus version will positively annihilate the Autobahn, all while bringing your whole family along for the ride.
Unfortunately it doesn't look any more likely that Quattro GmbH's latest Plus model will make the transatlantic journey to American showrooms, but we can hope that maybe Audi will perform similar modifications on the RS7 Sportback we do get here.

Munich prosecutors expand Audi investigation

Munich prosecutors said they have widened an investigation at Audi to examine the carmaker's sales in Germany and elsewhere in Europe after the federal government accused the Volkswagen division of cheating on emissions tests in its home market. Audi on Thursday recalled around 24,000 older A7 and A8 models in Europe, 14,000 of which were sold in Germany, to update transmission software, which it said was causing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to exceed EU limits. Munich prosecutors have been investigating Audi on suspicion of fraud and criminal advertising in the United States where parent Volkswagen's emissions scandal broke in September 2015. They have expanded the inquiry to include vehicle sales in the brand's home region, a spokesman for prosecutors said. Audi said late on Thursday that it would continue to fully cooperate with authorities and Germany's KBA motor vehicle authority, which the carmaker had notified about the latest emissions irregularities. The affected Audi models with so-called Euro-5 emission standards, and built between 2009 and 2013, emit about twice the legal NOx limits when the steering wheel is turned more than 15 degrees, the German transport ministry said. Prosecutors said the suspicion in the Audi investigation still centered on fraud, adding they have not yet received updated information from the KBA on the situation in Germany. Their investigation came to a head in March when prosecutors searched Audi's headquarters in Ingolstadt in connection with the emissions scandal, as well as a second German plant and subsequently even the law firm that VW had hired to clear up dieselgate.Related Video: Government/Legal Green Audi Emissions volkswagen diesel