First Drive: The Audi RS6 GT is not for the shy and retiring

This ultra-rare RS6 has look-at-me graphics, a whopping spoiler, impossible-to-keep-clean white wheels and a ferociously vicious 4.0-litre V8 under the bonnet. What’s not to love?

There are plenty of design touches to mark it out from the standard RS6. These include those lairy decals, deep side skirts, prominent front splitter and huge wheels. The bonnet is made from carbon fibre to save weight as are those huge flared arches.

The GT can hit 60mph in 3.3 seconds and 124mph in just 10.5 seconds – all while carrying a wardrobe in the massive boot. It has an eight speed automatic gearbox that rifles through the gears.

It sounds angry from the minute you fire it up, sparking into life with a rally car-style bark. Overall, it feels sharper than the standard model almost everywhere but can be a little hard over the bumps.

The current multimedia system from the standard model is carried across which gives you CarPlay and Android Auto and its touchscreen is easy to use.

And if you’re wondering where the roof rails have gone, they’ve been removed for the first time ever on an RS6 to give it a “flatter and spotier silhouette”, says Audi.

The standard RS6 is one of the best all-round cars ever made. Yes, it’s expensive but it combines sports car thrills with family car practicality and is just at home on a race track as it is taking the kids to school or the dogs to the park. But the RS6 GT is different.

It’s an ultra-high-performance version of a very special model and designed for those buyers who’ll spend more time attacking mountain passes than Morrisons. This is 90% sports car and 10% family car and certainly no sleeper. In fact, we’d go as far as to say this RS6 has a serious case of insomnia.