2002 Abt RS6 Avant review

Abt RS6 Avant review:

When DTM-drivers are getting into a road car in order to take it for some laps at a race track, it will be quite a special car indeed. With the new RS6, Audi has achieved this remarkable feat: already during the DTM-season, in which this extreme sports car was used as a safety car, Laurent Aiello and Christian Abt often used to take the limousine and the Avant for a little ride. Now, the team of Abt Sportsline has taken on the RS6 as well. And anyone who thinks that 450 hp is the limit, has to think again: enter the Abt RS6 Avant.

Yes, one might think that 450 hp is more than enough for an Avant – after all, the winning car of the 2002 DTM, the Abt-Audi TT-R, only just tops this performance. But a company like Abt Sportsline, having been passionately involved in motorsport for many decades, can’t be satisfied that easily: after a modification of the electronic engine management of the eight cylinder bi-turbo power unit, performance has been increased to 505 hp, while the maximum torque will only be reached at a fascinating 465 lb-ft. This allows the Abt RS6 Avant to dash from 0-60 mph in only 4.4 seconds.

Equally impressive as the driving performance and the increase of the top speed to approximately 174 mph is the noble understatement of the Abt RS6: it is hiding its strength and its power, easily exceeding the performance of a sports car, under the elegant guise of an Avant. Here, Abt Sportsline has only refined the bodywork in details, like for instance with the four pipe exhaust system, emphasising the car’s sporty appeal and unmistakably referring to its provenance from Kempten.

Fitting for the performance, Abt Sportsline has chosen the appropriate wheels for the most powerful vehicle in its line-up. The Abt sports wheel SP2, cast in one piece in the dimension 9 x 20 inch and fitted with 255/30 R20 ContiSportContact2 tyres ensures the best possible contact between the quattro-drive and the asphalt. The new Champion wheel rim covers are the pinnacle of wheel design from Kempten. The silver-coloured covers with black inscription commemorate Laurent Aiello’s title-winning campaign in the 2002 DTM-season.

With so much power, the performance of the brakes is especially important. Therefore, Abt Sportsline has mounted its sport braking system to the front and the rear axle of the RS6. Apart from the looks, the double-ventilated brake disks with the dimension 380 x 32 millimetres (front) and 322 x 32 millimetres (rear) ensure more safety and lighter handling of the super sports car. Larger pistons result into more braking power, the disks provide more stability and increased durability. End of Abt RS6 Avant review.