The RS Tribute edition RS6 is gloriously old‑school

The RS Edition celebrates the original Audi uber-estate, the Audi RS2 from 1994. It had a 2.2-litre turbocharged five-cylinder engine with 315PS (232kW) and 410Nm (303lb ft) of torque, all-wheel-drive and a six-speed manual gearbox, but crucially it drove really well. Well enough that Audi realised they were on to something, giving us cars like the current RS6, the B7 RS4 and the bonkers twin-turbo V10 4F RS6.

The last time Audi created a tribute RS like this was with the RS4 Avant Nogaro in 2014, which celebrated 20 years of the RS brand. Like that car, mechanically speaking the RS Tribute edition RS6 is a standard RS. You get the same gearbox, the same all-wheel-drive system and the same 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 engine with 600PS (441kW). What’s new, aside from that gorgeous paint job, is a set of 22-inch, five-spoke alloy wheels (the RS2 had 17-inch wheels), red brake calipers, black roof rails, front grille and rear diffuser, and a black leather interior with blue stitching and carbon-fibre all over the place.

The price for all of this heritage-inspired wonderfulness is the not insignificant sum of $136,800, or about $27,800 more than a regular RS6. You’ll notice that the price is in US dollars, and yes, sadly the RS Tribute edition is only available in the USA with just 25 examples set to be built. Damn.

So, if you’re making a trip to America any time soon, please give the GRR office a call and we’ll be happy to send you a rather large, sturdy, wagon-shaped suitcase…