Long-term report: The Audi RS6 shows its true colours on 900-mile roadtrip to Nurburgring 24-hour race

By Staff reporter
Published 28th Aug 2023, 10:58 BST
Updated 28th Aug 2023, 11:05 BST
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No sooner had KY72 OJD arrived all shiny and pristine outside my colleague James Baggott’s house, I was round borrowing the keys for a weekend away.

But this was no normal weekend as I had been invited by Audi Sport to make the 450-mile jaunt to Germany for the Nurburgring 24 Hour (N24h) annual endurance race, and for me it was a bit of a pilgrimage.

You see, as 24-hour races go, there’s the pomp and historical significance of Le Mans and then there’s the grittier, more hardcore N24. It takes place on a dicing combination of the 13-mile, fearsome Nordschleife circuit and the three-mile Grand Prix course, and that alone gives you an idea of the sheer enormity of the challenge. When you remember that the Nordschleife is the world’s longest racetrack and has taken numerous drivers’ lives over the years, you can see why it’s one of those destinations every petrolhead has to visit at least once.placeholder image
You see, as 24-hour races go, there’s the pomp and historical significance of Le Mans and then there’s the grittier, more hardcore N24. It takes place on a dicing combination of the 13-mile, fearsome Nordschleife circuit and the three-mile Grand Prix course, and that alone gives you an idea of the sheer enormity of the challenge. When you remember that the Nordschleife is the world’s longest racetrack and has taken numerous drivers’ lives over the years, you can see why it’s one of those destinations every petrolhead has to visit at least once.

Audi Sport was once again competing in this year’s event, but sadly it would be its last for the foreseeable future as the brand turns its attention to F1 from 2026 onwards. It was aiming to go out on a high though, with its customer teams fielding six R8 LMS GT3 racers, four of which were decked out in classic Audi racing liveries from the past to celebrate 40 years of Audi Sport.

To get to the upmarket Hotel Kastenholz in the picturesque town of Wershofen in der Eifel (our base for the event and some 15 miles away from the track) by dusk meant leaving my house in Hampshire at 4am to catch the Channel Tunnel train due to depart a couple of hours later. I sometimes baulk at journeys like this as often the romantic thought of blasting along empty roads as the sun rises in an exciting car is normally the stuff of dreams – the reality is I’m driving a hybrid, in the rain and on a wild detour because the motorway I need is closed because of over-run roadworks.placeholder image
To get to the upmarket Hotel Kastenholz in the picturesque town of Wershofen in der Eifel (our base for the event and some 15 miles away from the track) by dusk meant leaving my house in Hampshire at 4am to catch the Channel Tunnel train due to depart a couple of hours later. I sometimes baulk at journeys like this as often the romantic thought of blasting along empty roads as the sun rises in an exciting car is normally the stuff of dreams – the reality is I’m driving a hybrid, in the rain and on a wild detour because the motorway I need is closed because of over-run roadworks.

The drive to Folkestone to catch the train was one of those moments we all dream about, though. It was pitch black leaving my house and the RS6’s matrix LED lights carved a path across the South Downs and into Kent. I took the long way and it was worth it.

By 5.45am I was all checked in and ready to board the train to Calais, giving the RS6 a 35-minute rest before plotting a course across the top of France, through Belgium, the Netherlands and then in the heart of the German Eifel mountains.

The RS6’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 can have a prodigious thirst for unleaded should you use all of the car’s 591bhp, but I fancied a relaxed cruise. Like most modern performance cars, there are a number of different driving modes and two further configurable ‘RS’ modes allowing you to fine tune the car to your perfect driving style.placeholder image
The RS6’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 can have a prodigious thirst for unleaded should you use all of the car’s 591bhp, but I fancied a relaxed cruise. Like most modern performance cars, there are a number of different driving modes and two further configurable ‘RS’ modes allowing you to fine tune the car to your perfect driving style.

‘Efficiency’ might seem an odd mode for a flared-wheel-arched, four-wheel drive super estate, but on my cruise I managed to coax as much as 28mpg from the V8. With the dampers in their softest setting and our RS6 having the smaller 21-inch wheels (no longer an option, sadly), it soaked up the miles amazingly well. The combination of the supportive bucket seats and fantastic Bang & Olufsen stereo made for a super smooth and comfortable waft into Germany.

For the next two days there was the option to drive other Audi RS models between the hotel and the circuit, but I always chose to stay in the RS6. And it was the crowd’s choice too; when using the public roads all around the track to get to different corners, the RS6 would be met by waves and cheers and nods of approval from other RS drivers. Some people even took to standing in the middle of the road in order to snap a photo of it on their iPhones. I guess the combination of a standard specification RS6, in Ultra Blue with the classic RS-design alloy wheels and UK registration plates gave the Audi a certain cool vibe.placeholder image
For the next two days there was the option to drive other Audi RS models between the hotel and the circuit, but I always chose to stay in the RS6. And it was the crowd’s choice too; when using the public roads all around the track to get to different corners, the RS6 would be met by waves and cheers and nods of approval from other RS drivers. Some people even took to standing in the middle of the road in order to snap a photo of it on their iPhones. I guess the combination of a standard specification RS6, in Ultra Blue with the classic RS-design alloy wheels and UK registration plates gave the Audi a certain cool vibe.

If you’ve ever considered going to the N24 but haven’t done so I highly recommend it. Nothing can prepare you for the sheer sight of partying Germans who are drinking beer and standing over braziers, deep in the forest and just feet away from cars competing in one of the world’s most gruelling motor races.

Audi has won the N24 on six occasions, the last being in 2022, but this year it wasn’t to be. Audi Sport Team Land’s car, painted in a gorgeous tribute to the classic Audi S1 quattro rally cars of the 1980s, was the highest-placed finisher in sixth – not the way Audi wanted to end the illustrious career of the R8 LMS GT3, but it was a memorable showing nonetheless.placeholder image
Audi has won the N24 on six occasions, the last being in 2022, but this year it wasn’t to be. Audi Sport Team Land’s car, painted in a gorgeous tribute to the classic Audi S1 quattro rally cars of the 1980s, was the highest-placed finisher in sixth – not the way Audi wanted to end the illustrious career of the R8 LMS GT3, but it was a memorable showing nonetheless.

On Sunday afternoon as the crowds started to pack up, many of whom were clearing away their cases of empty beer bottles and taking down their homemade grandstands, it was time for me to point the RS6 home. This time I decided to take a slightly more interesting route on the country roads in the Eifel mountains before tackling the motorways back to France.

Previous RS6s have always felt just a little too lead-footed to make such a drive enjoyable, and while the latest model doesn’t quite deliver the type of thrill a Mercedes-AMG E63 would, it’s more agile to drive than ever before. The way it goes around tight corners and then blasts away from them into the next series of tight turns with such composure is, frankly, incredible. When you’re on it, the RS6 feels smaller and more lithe than the RS4 we ran before, I think.placeholder image
Previous RS6s have always felt just a little too lead-footed to make such a drive enjoyable, and while the latest model doesn’t quite deliver the type of thrill a Mercedes-AMG E63 would, it’s more agile to drive than ever before. The way it goes around tight corners and then blasts away from them into the next series of tight turns with such composure is, frankly, incredible. When you’re on it, the RS6 feels smaller and more lithe than the RS4 we ran before, I think.

Before long the arrow-straight, multi-lane stretches of motorways were calling. On the drive back through Germany these comprise a couple of sections of derestricted autobahn – the fast Audi’s calling card, and here the RS6 didn’t disappoint. At full chat with the V8 burbling away, the RS6 was completely unruffled. Progress was swift, too; though the car is limited to 155mph we exceeded that just slightly on the more open stretches of autobahn. It felt completely at home in such an environment.

From this point on the journey home was pretty unremarkable, and the magic of the weekend really was over as I nosed the RS6 through 50mph average speed zones on the M20 motorway. A quick wash to remove the dirt and another tankful of premium unleaded was needed before handing the keys back to James Baggott. Looking at the car sitting outside his house again, it was hard to believe the RS6 had ever covered such a fantastic roadtrip to see one of the world’s greatest races. It was a privilege to spend time in one of the best performance cars on sale right now.

  • Model: Audi RS6
  • Price as tested: £106,020
  • Engine: 4.0-litre V8
  • Power: 591bhp
  • Torque: 800Nm
  • 0-60mph: 3.6 seconds
  • Top speed: 155mph
  • MPG: 22.4mpg (combined)
  • Emissions: 286g/km CO2
  • Mileage: 12,240
Related topics:GermanyTravel
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