That miserable day has come. Another goodbye we have to say far too soon. Or maybe we’re simply not ready. Saying farewell to the RS6 hurts, and after taking the exclusive GT through the hairpins of the Col Agnel, the realization that we’ll be left orphaned of a truly great model hits us in the gut. The countdown begins here.

Words Alessandro Marrone / Photos Jay Tomei

I’ve never been good at saying goodbyes. But then again, who really is? When they said that the RS6 as we know it would also be heading down that dead-end road, it was yet another blow to the heart. Another enthusiast’s car preparing to leave, ready to take its place in a warehouse of driving emotions destined to fade away like a fire that’s no longer being fed. The crackling grows fainter, then begins to blend into the indistinct background noise. What will come next is something we’re not meant to know and most likely, neither do they. I say this because at first there was talk of a fully electric future RS6, which has since become — at least — a plug-in hybrid. What is almost certain is that this could be the swan song of the mighty twin-turbo V8. That’s why the RS6 deserved a standing ovation, a celebratory model and a day spent where ordinary people would never think of pushing a two-plus-ton super estate to its limits.

I chose the Col Agnel almost by chance. Only halfway through did I realize that we had actually come here for another moving farewell (the one to the Jaguar F-Type R, published on our pages about a couple of years ago). There’s no denying that the choice may be imperfect, at least given the Audi’s size and power. But personally, I believe there’s a factor that should come before outright performance, especially when you know the next few kilometers will be the last you’ll ever drive at the wheel of a certain idea of what a car should be.

The RS6 GT is the conclusion of an era. It’s a tribute to itself, to its own past and to those customers who have always seen it as something more than just a family car with an avalanche of horsepower under the hood. I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again: the RS6 is the perfect alternative to the R8. After all, if you have a family, a dog and always need to carry half a dozen suitcases, there’s nothing better than a single solution capable of delivering supercar performance on asphalt. It was an engineering feat that left an indelible mark on the entire world of the four rings, spanning generations that were able to live lives of their own and pass the always unforgiving test of time.

RS6 GT — Audi’s celebratory edition, produced in 660 sequentially numbered units. And since I know you’ve already peeked a few pages ahead, let’s get this out of the way immediately. The price is exorbitant: €246,000, or one hundred thousand euros more than a standard RS6 Avant. For the record, don’t bother doing further calculations ‘cause they’re all sold out already. Whether it’s brand devotion, preemptive nostalgia, or speculative intent, the reality of the RS6 GT is that behind a figure that pushes it squarely into territory usually reserved for full-blown supercars lies a tribute to the Audi world unlike anything done before.

The GT is not a car that goes unnoticed, especially in this livery — the best of the three available — Arkona White with carbon-look decals that cleverly recall Audi Sport’s traditional colors. Visually, there are substantial differences compared to a standard RS6, clearly inspired by the 1989 90 quattro IMSA GTO: a new front grille, massive 22-inch white wheels and a more pronounced rear spoiler. But what truly matters is invisible to the eye. We’re talking about extensive use of carbon fiber and manually adjustable coil-over suspension. You read that right: Audi provides customers with a dedicated toolkit in a case, allowing them to set the GT’s suspension according to their own preferences. It also features a sport rear differential integrated with the iconic quattro all-wheel drive system, the best way to distribute that enormous torque across the rear axle. Lowered by 10 millimeters, the RS6 GT also comes with dynamic all-wheel steering, but we’ll talk about that later, once we’ve strung together a few proper corners.

Sure, reading this list of features — as impressive as they may sound — it’s still hard to justify such a universally demanding price. The truth is that the road beyond Pontechianale leaves little room for lingering doubts. After selecting one of the two customizable RS modes, it’s finally time to immerse myself in the ultimate celebration of a model that pays tribute to an entire era: that of internal-combustion RS6s (setting aside the fact that this RS6 is technically a mild hybrid).

“Man’s feelings are always purer and most glowing in the hour of meeting and of farewell.” Not that today’s sensations needed embellishment, but the awareness that this incredible carousel ride is finally shifting into dynamically serious territory awakens all five senses. Eyes wide open, ears straining outward, trying to catch the crackles emitted by the two massive exhausts wrapped by the rear diffuser. Sure, the sound could have been even louder, but we all know that with a random aftermarket system, this V8 would sound like Ragnarok turned up to eleven.

Half throttle, the RS6 GT devours straight sections with a smoothness that seems utopian for a five-meter-long 2.2-ton car. The tires gnash their tread blocks against the hot asphalt, exploiting high temperatures to deliver behavior that feels unnatural for a car of this type. The road opens up for a few kilometers and taking advantage of the complete absence of traffic in both directions, I realize this will be one of the few chances today to push as close as possible to the fine line separating excellent performance from extraordinary ones.

The road behavior is disorienting. I’m literally embarrassed by how easy it is to keep the throttle down through corners. The twin-turbo V8, delivering the same 630 horsepower as the RS6 Performance, has absurd thrust. From 2,000 rpm onward, it pins you to the carbon bucket seat. The landscape blurs, and you search for a fixed point beyond the hood, steering with ever-greater precision as the kilometers tick by. That’s because the all-wheel steering virtually shortens the RS6’s wheelbase, revealing agility that neither you nor physics would have thought possible. In tighter corners, you enter and exit with a violence that confirms this isn’t merely a powerful car, but an object capable of combining practicality and performance, delivering a level of driver involvement you truly begin to understand the moment you start taking things seriously. Grip and traction hurl you out of corners and put your body to the test, somewhere between total comfort and the jolts caused by today’s decidedly brisk pace.

The differences compared to a “standard” RS6 emerge precisely along that fine line. It’s not about power for its own sake, nor about the 850 Nm of torque peak that turns the rev range between 2,300 and 4,500 rpm into a (brief) moment where you grip the steering wheel tighter than usual. It’s the dynamics you feel between corners, the way the GT reads the asphalt and dominates it that conveys the biggest differences compared to the so-called normal version. You feel it, stiff as a board yet millimeter-precise. In that moment, size and weight vanish and it’s as if you’re hanging from the steering wheel above a chassis that has nothing to envy of traditional supercars.

Listen carefully. The RS6 GT doesn’t deliver Lotus-like sensations, but what the human body perceives in the tangled right-left sequence of an unusually deserted mountain road is the same — except that with a press of the gas, the elastic reaction of the twin-turbo V8 catapults you toward the horizon with a violence that’s hard to get used to. The brakes, with 420-mm carbon-ceramic discs up front and 370-mm at the rear, are — dare I say — fundamental. They’re the lifeline that corrects human error, but also the only effective way to slow down a gigantic bullet fired at absurd speeds on a road far too narrow for such things.

Of course, you can’t really feel the 40-kg weight reduction compared to a standard RS6 Avant, just as you don’t feel the extra 30 horsepower. What you do feel, deep in your bones, is how different the driving dynamics are, especially in Dynamic mode. The GT isn’t nervous in the broad sense of the word. You feel the rolling of the 285 tires and the reduced ride height that could cause the bumper to scrape, but the steering and seat comfort filter enough to preserve the core feeling of driving a big estate, not a stripped-out track-day special.

Maybe I’m getting older, but I personally get more emotional with cars like this than with the usual two-seat, ground-hugging missiles that leave no room for imagination. Cars like the RS6 GT still know how to leave you open-mouthed, making you ask, “What the hell were they thinking?”— turning every day behind the wheel into a new challenge to your own beliefs. The RS6 GT does exactly that: it takes a car I’ve always considered 99% perfect and pushes it to 99.9%, only because we tend to reserve 100% for something that may never exist, especially given the current state of the market.

So forgive me if I don’t intend to spend even a second talking about the infotainment system, the countless screens displaying every conceivable piece of information — useful or not — either in front of the driver’s eyes or via adaptive touch, which isn’t always flawless anyway. These details are irrelevant, especially when the ticking of extinction echoes through the long corridors of Valhalla, where cars like the RS6 have earned their place at the eternal banquet. The GT draws more attention than a Lamborghini, that’s a fact. That most onlookers and pseudo-enthusiasts have no idea it’s a GT, what it introduces, or how much more special it is, is another matter entirely. With this livery and those wheels that wink at the Hot Wheels cars we loved as kids, it awakens emotions dulled by the boredom of today’s automotive landscape too focused on “doing the right thing” instead of building the right car.

“Mom, Dad. One more ride, please!”— how many times did evenings out stretch on thanks to our relentless pleas? I’ve lost count. One more run, up and down an Agnel that once again serves as the stage for a final act we hoped to postpone a little longer. Sure, it’s perfectly possible to drive the RS6 GT like a responsible family guy, but why on earth would you want to? The confidence it inspires is visceral, yet you know well it’s the product of the car’s absurd technology, not your own merit. It’s a bit like having a Nile crocodile guarding your house: you know it’ll do a great job, you just hope it doesn’t tear your bones apart like toothpicks. The RS6 GT is a Nile crocodile. Big, imposing, impossible to ignore, loud only when angry and glued to the ground, leaving no escape.

Hours fly by and the shadows begin to stretch. As the Alpine pass grows increasingly deserted, I pull over and exhale, as if releasing all the adrenaline built up from hauling 630 horsepower up a winding mountain road. Once again, that bitter taste of the end in my mouth is made even sadder by the fact that these cars sell like fresh bread on a Sunday morning. And yet the world wants something else; they tell us so by gift-wrapping a thousand things an enthusiast will never truly care for, especially if it means giving up moments like this, where the only concern is being gentle with the fuel card. But what truly matters, if this is the last chance, it has to be lived to the fullest. No regrets, no half measures, exactly like the most exaggerated RS6 ever. The perfect tribute to a motorsport legend is, in reality, the ultimate celebration of a road-going sports car, an ode to driving pleasure, capable of blending performance and effectiveness in a perfect alignment that could not have arrived either sooner or later.

The RS6 GT is a fleeting moment, a breath of relief that allows us to pause for a second and thank the vision of a sports car that never knew compromise and never represented a renunciation of fun — even when it had to carry the whole family along.

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

And then, according to rumors at least, it seems someone has realized that excluding even a partially combustion-powered RS6 would be a rather foolish move. The fact remains that nothing will ever be the same again, not like this precise moment, when everything is born of a 4.0-liter V8 and plenty of burned petrol. If you’ve read carefully, you’ll notice I never once mentioned acceleration figures or top speed (you’ll find those summarized in the technical data sheet). And that’s exactly what surprised me most about the GT: it doesn’t rely on cold numbers to define its greatness, but leaves them as a direct consequence of a road behavior that speaks through sensations and emotions we’re never ready to say goodbye to. Relating to the GT carries particular emotional weight because of the imminent farewell, but when all is said and done, the differences compared to the Performance — or a Performance with a couple of specific modifications — reduce the price gap to a matter of value tied purely to its limited-edition status. For now, thank you, but let’s hope it doesn’t end here. Curtain.

AUDI RS6 AVANT GT

Engine V8 cylinder twin-turbo, 3.996 cc Power 630 hp @ 6.000 rpm Torque 850 Nm @ 2.300-4.500 rpm

Traction All-Wheel-Drive Transmission 8-Speed Automatic Gearbox Weight 2.299 kg

0-100 kph 3,3 sec Top Speed 305 kph Price €246.000