Audi RS6 Avant GT is a Longroof Love-Letter to the 90 IMSA GTO

Audi kicked a lot of butt with its 90 Quattro GTO race car. This was an inline-5-cylinder all-wheel-drive monster machine that Hans Stuck drove the wheels off and shocked V8-powered beasts on plenty of road courses. That car should’ve easily secured a championship in 1989, but a few missed races and early teething issues prevented that from happening. Still, the car remains a legend of motorsport, and now Audi is paying homage to it with… a wagon?

You bet your ass they are.

Meet the Audi RS6 Avant GT. Appending the GT badge to this car doesn’t unlock more horsepower, but that’s okay, as it already arrives with 621 of those on tap. Instead, Audi drops some pounds, adds aero, and re-tunes the chassis. The front hood and fenders are carbon fiber. There’s more ducting as you can see by the reworked front fenders. A big rear spoiler is a nice design connection to the 90 race car. And Audi actually ditches the roof rails here to keep things slick.

As for the chassis, I mentioned it’s been re-tuned. But part of that is in your hands as this car gets manually adjustable coilovers. Audi provides a nice little tool to adjust the settings but the car also already sits 10mm lower compared to a standard RS6 Avant.

I had the chance to sample the RS6 Avant GT at the Streets of Willow road course. It feels like a tighter, more focused package compared to the regular version of this wonderful wagon. Turn-in and steering response are properly set up. The power comes on immediately, and the RS6 Avant GT pulls aggressively out of every corner. The brakes keep you confident, the grip is there, and there’s pure joy to be had from hustling a wagon on a race track.

Audi will build just 660 examples of the RS6 Avant GT. Of that number, just 85 are bound for the States. If you’re interested, you’d better have a sack of cash because Audi says this one will be “under $200,000”. No, the twin-turbo V8 doesn’t sound as good as the crazy I5 turbo setup of the 90 GTO. But the livery homage is properly done, the car feels special, and it’s something you could live with on a daily basis.

I’m sad its not in my own personal realm of affordability… but I’m very happy it exists.

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