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Audi RS 6 GTO concept unveiled

Audi has unveiled the RS 6 GTO concept, a high-performance wagon inspired by an iconic race car of the brand's past.


Based on the showroom-specification RS 6 Avant wagon, the RS 6 GTO concept pays homage to the short-lived Audi 90 Quattro GTO race car, built for the US-based IMSA racing series in 1989.

Raced for a single year before Audi top brass cancelled the project, the iconic circuit racer won seven of the 12 races it competed in, thanks to a 2.2-litre five-cylinder paired with a mammoth KKK turbocharger to produce 530kW.

 

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Developed by apprentices at Audi's Neckarsulm factory – where the RS 6, R8, and a range of other Audi models are built – the modern GTO tribute builds on the already-rapid RS 6 with a variety of tweaks inspired by the racer, including a red, silver and black livery, white turbofan wheels with red centre caps, wider wheel arches, a large red rear spoiler and a side-exit exhaust outlet.

Other upgrades include a unique front splitter, rear diffuser and side skirts, plus a partially-covered front grille, a pair of aggressive bonnet vents, an F1-inspired lower rear brake light, and a gamut of GTO badges.

Inside the cabin, the 'standard' RS 6's leather-trimmed sports seats have been replaced by a set of carbon-fibre-backed, suede-trimmed Recaro bucket seats, complemented by six-point race harnesses, a roll cage and a revised centre console with carbon-fibre trim and a row of custom buttons.

 

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Details of the GTO concept's are few and far between, but it's likely it features the same 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 and mild-hybrid system as the production RS 6, sending 441kW of power and 800Nm of torque to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The road car claims a 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.6 seconds – with the concept's stripped-out interior, we'd wager it can slash a few tenths off that time.

Unsurprisingly, Audi has no plans to put the RS 6 GTO into production. Try asking nicely, perhaps?

 

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Below: the 90 Quattro IMSA GTO racer on which the RS 6 GTO concept is based:

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Alex Misoyannis

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family.

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