Audi RS6 Avant vs Audi S8 — Which is Faster?

Audi has always been good at making fast, luxurious sedans and wagons, and it still is today. In fact, two of its fastest five-seater cars are some of the best in their respective segments — the Audi RS6 Avant and Audi S8. Being a wagon, and the first RS6 Avant to ever be sold in America, we naturally love the RS6 more than most other machines on the planet. However, the Audi S8 is shockingly good, better than most expect it to be. Both cars even use the same basic engine. But which one is actually faster? In this new drag race video from Carwow, we get to see which is faster.

On paper, the Audi RS6 Avant should beat the S8. While they both use what is essentially the same 4.0 liter twin-turbo V8, the RS6 is more powerful, with 591 horsepower and 590 lb-ft, versus 563 horsepower and 590 lb-ft in the S8. That power difference isn’t massive but the S8 is a bit heavier.

Despite the S8’s slightly worse power-to-weight, it was actually faster off the line, three times in a row. In fact, it was not only faster off the line, it was faster full-stop. In three drag races, the Audi S8 managed to beat the RS6, which genuinely surprised us. The Audi S8 isn’t even a proper RS car and it still beat the RS6, which is sort of Audi’s performance darling at the moment.

The Audi RS6 Avant did claw back in the rolling drag races, though, where it managed to take two wins. But then the Audi S8 fought back and won in the brake test which, again, we had a hard time beleiving.

It seems that the Audi S8 might actually be the best performance sedan or wagon from the brand at the moment. Not only is it faster than the RS6, it’s more luxurious and features a bigger back seat. It’s not as cool looking but it’s still great to look at. Plus, it’s even more of a sleeper.