Audi RS6 news - Avant got the cash? - 2008

Ouch. Audi has just announced prices for the new RS6 Avant and, as you might expect for the most powerful production Audi ever, it's not cheap.

77,625 English pounds of not cheap, in fact. That's almost 10 grand more expensive than the RS6 Avant's closest rival, the BMW M5 Touring, and only a couple of hundred quid cheaper than the R8.

Thankfully - for your bank balance at least - you won't be able to lay your hands on an RS6 Avant for a wihle. The UK's first year allocation of 380 Avants has already been snapped up.

So what do those 380 well-heeled individuals get for their hard-earned? Well, a biturbo V10 with 572bhp and 479lb ft of torque, for a start - enough to see the RS6 Avant to 62mph in 4.6 seconds, 124mph in 14.9 seconds and a top speed limited to 155mph.

What else? Quattro four-wheel drive, naturally, an ESP system that can be completely switched off if you're feeling plucky, 20-inch alloys and Alcantara trim. And more.

You don't, however, get ceramic brakes - they remain a cost option.

If you've got an expensive RS6-shaped hole in your life that needs filling before next year, the saloon version will arrive this summer. It'll even be cheaper than the Avant. Not much cheaper, we fear.