Audi has no shortage of performance vehicles. It offers the practical and potent Audi RS6 Avant Performance, which is facing off against the Audi R8 Spyder in a new drag racing video. However, the RS6 won’t have to worry about its stablemate soon as Audi plans to discontinue the supercar.
The RS6 Performance packs a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine. It produces 630 horsepower and 626 pound-feet (850 Newton-meters) of torque. It tips the scales at a stout 4,607 pounds (2,090 kilograms), routing power to the Quattro all-wheel-drive through an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Gallery: 2024 Audi RS6 Avant Performance: First Drive Review
The R8 doesn’t have any forced indication, the naturally aspirated V1- engine pumping out 620 hp and 427 lb-ft (580 Nm) of torque. While it is down on power, the R8 is lighter, weighing 3,736 lbs (1,695 kg). It has all-wheel drive that is fed power through the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
The two performance Audis competed in three drag races. In the first, the R8 got the better start, pulling away to log its first victory. The RS6 launched well in the second race, pulling ahead of the R8 Spyder, but the convertible caught up and passed the wagon, earning its second victory.
The final race saw the pair get their best launches, but there could only be one winner: the R8. It completed the standing quarter-mile race in 10.9 seconds. The RS6 Avant Performance needed 11.2 seconds to cover the same distance.
The two then faced off in a pair of rolling races. The R8 clobbered the RS6 in the first one, with the cars in their comfiest settings. The second race was much closer when the drivers set their vehicles to their sportiest settings and put the gearboxes in manual mode. The R8 only won by a bumper, with the RS6 right by its side.
Audi will end R8 production at the end of the 2023 model year, and it’s going out with a bang. The automaker introduced the 2023 Audi R8 GT as the most powerful rear-wheel-drive Audi ever, with 602 hp on tap, hitting 60 mph in 3.3 seconds. Audi plans to build just 333 of them, with only 150 coming to the United States. It costs $251,395, and that includes the $1,495 destination charge.
