REVIEWS for the 2018 Audi RS4 Avant are due to be released in the coming days, so to help prepare you we thought we’d give a quick history lesson on four-ringed fast wagons.
Since the 1990s the German manufacturer has earned a reputation for its stonking performance wagons, known as Avants, for many years only offering its tastiest performance four-doors exclusively in wagon-bodied form. As a result, Audi has offered more sportscar-shaming family-haulers than most.
We’ve cherry-picked three examples which represent the very best from Audi’s fast wagon division.
Engine/transmission: 2.2-litre five-cylinder turbo / six-speed manual
Power: 235kW @ 6500rpm / 410Nm @ 3000rpm

And when tested by Autocar magazine in the UK, the RS2 Avant recorded a staggering 0-48km/h time of 1.5 sec, quicker than a McLaren F1 road car, or Jacques Villeneuve’s Williams Formula 1 car of the time.
While the RS2 Avant was manufactured by Audi, it was actually assembled by Porsche on the same production line that birthed the 959.
Engine/transmission: 4.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8 / seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power: 331kW @8250rom / 430Nm @ 4000-6000rpm

Despite nearly two decades between them, the B8 RS4 is only a tenth of a second quicker to 100km/h than the RS2 Avant.
The B8 could be optioned with carbon-ceramic brakes, because why the hell not. All up, just 7000 examples were built during its production run.
Engine/transmission: 5.0-litre twin-turbo V10 / six-speed tiptronic
Power: 426kW @ 6250-6700rpm / 650Nm @ 1500-6250rpm

When it was produced, the C6 RS6 was the fastest car Audi produced, and could crack 100km/h from a standstill in 4.6 seconds. The huge power levels propelled the two-tonne beast past 200km.h in 12.7 seconds, before an electronic limiter kicked in at 250km/h. However, this glass ceiling could be lifted to274km/h if you ticked a box and handed some extra cash to Audi.
We bet Fido hasn’t had a ride to the dog park that quick before.