Audi RS 6 Avant Plus

The pant-wettingly fast estate from Audi

The 480bhp RS 6 Avant Plus is the ultimate version of the Audi's über-hearse. Wearing a g-suit and clutching a copy of The Right Stuff you can accelerate to 62mph in a retina busting 4.6 seconds. Keep the afterburners lit (well, the twin turbos) and you'll break through 125mph just 12.7 seconds later.

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This is the kind of performance that will frighten the fastest of fast supercars. Even Lamborghini Murcielago owners will need to think twice before taking on this monster Audi at the traffic lights. It is devilishly, addictively fast.

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The RS 6 Avant Plus is 30bhp more powerful than the standard RS 6, and has an astonishing torque curve that delivers rollercoaster speeds when you nail the accelerator pedal.

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The V8 engine is slightly peakier than the standard RS 6, which emphasises the astonishing "welling-up" sensation of torque when you're really going for it. It's like a toy car that you pull backwards to wind up - then let go at the point of maximum stored energy. Just watch it go! Thankfully this badass has Audi's remarkable four-wheel drive system to keep things in check. Even with this much power though, the RS 6 Plus is calmly reigned in by the "quattro" drivetrain stumping up incredible levels of grip and outright traction. All in all, you have to be doing something pretty imbecilic to crash this car.

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But it ain't all trophies and champers for the RS 6 Plus. Despite all the suspension and transmission goodies (see Key Features), for keen drivers the sensations that reach you are too atrophied. You never really feel connected to the car, which means you're impressed, but never fully involved. And the interior ambience just isn't special enough for a £66,675 car. It's got all the toys, including leather seats, carbon fibre trim strips and satnav, but it has no grace or style. Mercedes' similarly priced E55 AMG Estate is a more engaging performance estate, and has a classier interior. Show it a wet, greasy road however, and the rear wheel drive Merc won't get a sniff of the RS 6's pipes.

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Other features unique to the Plus include larger 19-inch cast aluminium wheels, an upgraded ECU (Electronic Control Unit), two additional radiators behind the intercoolers, a sports exhaust system with matt black, oval tailpipes and matt black roof rails. Each car is fitted with a numbered plaque, and exclusivity is guaranteed with no more than 999 being built.

There is probably no other road-biased car on the planet that has the breadth of talents of the Audi RS 6 Plus. There's something beguilingly preposterous about a car that, derestricted, can take four adults and a dog to nearly 200mph. So if you're the kind of person who likes to scare the paws off helpless, stupid animals this is the car for you.