Audi RS6 Avant 2008 front

Audi decided to follow up its 2002 RS6 Avant with a new version based on the latest A6 Wagon in 2008. The result was the most powerful estate car ever produced, with quite simply stunning levels of acceleration that felt like a mini Veyron.

The 2008 RS6 featured a 5.2 litre V10 taken from the Lamborghini Gallardo with two turbochargers bolted on to give a mammoth 580 horsepower, making it the most powerful production Audi ever made, backed up by the stability of its Quattro 4 wheel drive system. Its weight of 2025 kg blunted its overall handling ability but it could still cover ground at an astonishing (and comfortable) rate, making it the ultimate expression of a Performance wagon – Audi, we salute you!

Audi RS6 Avant 2008 Rear

Audi RS6 Avant 2002

Audi followed up its best selling 1999 RS4 with an RS version of its next size up station wagon the A6 Avant. the 2002 RS6 Avant featured a twin turbo 4.2 litre V8 engine giving a massive 444 horsepower, and the turbocharged engine gave a huge spread of power.

The quattro 4 wheel drive and powerful engine enabled the car a supercar quick 0-60 time of just 4.4 seconds, and can hit 170 miles per hour. Audi also offered a “plus” version of the RS6 that had an even more powerful 480 horsepower engine capable of 180 mph that was only offered for sale in Europe – it was only on sale for a year but quickly sold out.

Audi RS6 Avant 2002 rear

Audi RS4 Avant 2006 Front

Audi Followed up the 1999 RS4 with an updated version based on its all new A4 Avant in 2006. It still featured the famous Quattro 4 wheel drive system, but had a 4.2 litre V8 squeezed under the bonnet producing 420 horsepower.

More importantly the RS4 handled brilliantly. It quashed Audi’s reputation for producing solid but nose heavy cars that had good build quality but uninspiring handling, as the RS4 Avant had what felt more like rear wheel drive and produced a delicately balanced car that could be steered on the throttle and won rave reviews as a car to finally beat the BMW M3. Audi Also produced a convertible and a sedan version.

Audi RS4 Avant 2006 Rear

Audi RS4 Avant Front

Audi launched the successor to the cult RS2 Avant model in 1999 and produced another winner. It featured the famous Audi Quattro 4 wheel drive system and a 2.7 litre turbocharged engine tuned by UK race engineers Cosworth Racing, and developed 380 horsepower, with a 0-60 time of only 4.7 seconds.

It was only available at launch in the Wagon body style, and was not available in the U.S. and mainly sold in Europe. Like all RS models it was only offered for a limited period, from 1999 – 2001.

Audi RS4 Avant Rear

Audi RS2 Avant

The RS2 Avant was released back in 1994, and was built in conjunction with Porsche. It was based on the Audi 80 Avant, and used the firms turbocharged in line 5 cylinder engine tuned by Porsche. It was the first RS model and one of the first performance wagons ever built and it was incredibly popular winning rave reviews.

The Audi RS2 was never officially sold outside Europe, but plenty of personal exports made it stateside, and it has turned into something of a cult classic. It also established Audi’s reputation as a producer of practical high performance cars, used the Quattro system that Audi had been so successful with in World Rallying and was the grand daddy of the RS4 and RS6 Avants.

Mercedes E63 AMG Estate

If the 453 horsepower Mercedes C63 AMG isn’t lairy or powerful enough for you, you can simply move up one in the range (provided you’ve got the cash) into the 525 horsepower E63 AMG Estate.

With its 0-60 time of 4.6 seconds and huge load bay, the Mercedes E63 AMG is an incredibly powerful car that has a split personality, it can cruise around quietly as civilised family transport with a huge 1950 litre trunk, or with a press of the right boot it turns into a supercar beater, and has been regularly used as a pace or safety car at numerous Grand Prix circuits around the world.

Mercedes E63 AMG Estate Rear

Mercedes C63 AMG Estate

The ideal recipe for a performance wagon – take a compact premium family saloon like the Mercedes C-Class Estate, and shoehorn a massive 6.2 litre V8 engine with 457 horsepower, and a 0-60 time of 4.6 seconds (which can be upgraded even further to 487 horsepower by adding the performance pack plus) add big alloys, rear wheel drive, auto transmission and sports suspension and you’re onto a winner.

The C63 AMG is a monster of a car, with a Nascar V8 soundtrack and properly unruly behaviour, in short – we want one!

Mercedes C63 AMG Estate rear

BMW M5 Touring front

Launched in March 2007, the BMW M5 Touring is almost the perfect example of a performance wagon – fitted with a high revving 5.0 litre V8 capable of producing a mighty 507 horsepower, giving a 0-60 time of 4.8 seconds and limited to 155 mph, (although BMW would remove the limiter if you asked really nicely) and combined with a paddle-shift sequential seven speed gearbox, it offered huge performance.

In the previous M5, BMW has only offered the Touring version in left hand drive, but a right hand drive version was created for this to cater for the UK, Japan and other RHD markets. The M5 has always only hinted at its performance potential, with discreet air vents, larger alloys, a squat stance and 4 exhausts being the only giveaway clues that it’s not just your average 5 series.

BMW M5 Touring rear

BMW M3 Touring Rear

The one that got away! This has to be the one car that BMW sadly has never offered – The M3 in a Touring version, having made coupe, convertible, folding hard top and sedan variants. What we have here is a very good photoshop rendering of what the current M3 might look like if BMW was ever kind enough to produce the car.

It is almost surprising that they don’t judging by the success their main domestic rivals have had with performance station wagons – Audi with the RS4 Avant and Mercedes with the C63 AMG Estate. Come on BMW, get your act together and give us an M3 wagon!

BMW M3 Touring Front

Volvo 850 T5

Volvo was one of the first to create the idea of a high performance station wagon. In 1994 it introduced a 2.5 litre turbo engine as a way of producing a halo model that would lift the rather boring image Volvo had been saddled with, so it slotted this 223 horsepower engine into its 850 model, giving a 0-60 time of 7.7 seconds and a top speed of 149 mph.

At the same time introduced a range of bright colour schemes for it such as the banana yellow seen here and bright red, along with an aggressive (for the time) body kit and big alloy wheels. It even entered the car into the British touring car championship in a joint venture with Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR), which really helped raise awareness and brand image.