Is A Half-Price Audi RS6 A Bargain?

Last week, I spent some time with the utterly sublime Audi RS6 GT. Stay tuned for a full review of that coming, but those superlatives probably give you a hint as to what to expect.

Yet, with a price tag of £176,975 if you were fortunate enough to get one from Audi directly and with second-hand prices eclipsing £200k, that’s beyond the reach for many. And for a car that shares pretty much everything mechanically with the regular C8 RS6.

A new one of those still commands a hefty starting price, a touch over £120,000, which naturally has led me to one place – the classifieds.

It turns out, since its 2019 introduction, early examples have dropped in price quite a lot. Depreciation on a high-performance German car? Shock and horror, I tell you. Armed with around £65,000, just a little over half the asking cost of a new RS6, there’s quite a bit of choice.

This 2020 example with 28,800 miles for £62,495 jumped out at me. A subtly-specced silver-on-grey car with a tame set of alloy wheels not often seen on an RS6, it’s offered at an Audi main dealer as an Approved Used car, which is a major green flag.

It’s not exactly shy on kit either. There are the standard-fit Bang & Olufsen speakers, a 12.3-inch infotainment system, separate climate control in the rear and Matrix LED headlights.

However, it does without a sunroof and adaptive cruise control. Want those? Expect to pay a little bit more for a car with higher mileage, like this 45,700-mile, £64,500 example. It’s still Audi Approved Used, though, neatly.

Granted, £65,000 is objectively hard to describe as a bargain, but put into context, I think the C8 RS6 may just be that. Given the RS6 has had no major update in the last few years, you’re still getting a car that offers 621bhp from a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. It’ll crack 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds, and hit a limited 174mph top speed.

Will prices continue to fall? Probably a bit, but given the C8 will ultimately prove to be the last RS6 without major electrification as the next generation almost certainly goes full hybrid, it could prove to be a sought-after one in years to come. If I had the means, I’d buy in now.