Driving Audi's TDI wonder from LA to NY in search of the recordbooks

There is no wrong way to cross the continental US. Many people fly, countless drive. The hardcore walk or bike. Horses, motorcycles and hot air balloons? Do what you've got to do.

But what if you don't really have to cross? What if you just want to? And you want to do it while proving a point? It's actually not that hard to drive from LA to NYC in two days, given the right mindset. In most cars, it's also not all that difficult to do it while beating the EPA fuel economy numbers. The challenge is to do both at once, and if that's your target, then you could do a lot worse than joining hypermiler Wayne Gerdes and the CleanMPG crew in three 2014 Audi TDI diesel-equipped vehicles – a Q5, an A7 and an A6 - in a record-setting 48-hour drive. We called it Truth in 48, but it turns out we didn't even need that much time.

You know how the route from work to home or school to home gets redundant after a while, how you can sort of see a particular business before you turn the corner? How you know exactly where the potholes and the streetlights are? I'm pretty sure that the entire US Interstate highway system is that familiar to Gerdes, who regularly does one of these stunt drives in a never-ending effort to bring attention to the simple fact that you can save a whole bunch of fuel simply by changing the way you drive. He owns multiple Guinness World Records. His online forum, CleanMPG, is a clearinghouse for greener driving tips and is a gathering place for people who like to squeeze every last yard out of a tank of fuel. They're also pretty fun people, which is important when you're cheek-by-jowl in a moving car with them for two days straight.

Source : 

2013 Audi RS6 Avant

Back in 2008, I was fortunate enough to test the second-generation Audi RS6 Avant in southern France on the supremely well-sorted circuit at Le Castellet, a.k.a. Paul Ricard. I was thrown out there with the 572-horsepower bi-turbo 5.0-liter V10-equipped behemoth behind one of Audi's DTM pros and was convinced in short order that the flaming hippo in my hands was going to get the better of me on one or another of the track's tight esses. I made it out alive and invigorated, of course, but knew that that RS6 Avant was the heaviest that these thunderwagons should ever be allowed to get. At around 4,650 pounds with driver aboard, it was just way more lateral momentum at speed than any pilot needs on a track – or for that matter, on a favorite hot curving road.

Now it's time for the 2013 Audi RS6 Avant to lay us out with a flying scissor kick from the corner ropes. This version of the highway and byway marauder from Quattro GmbH is a decidedly greater piece of work than was the car I drove in 2008. This time, there will only be the Avant body configuration – no RS6 sedan – and, as with the previous generation, North America won't be at the receiving end when deliveries start at the end of July this year.

And that's exactly why I am so smitten: Audi RS models have routinely depressed me with their ultimate lack of racy finesse, leaving me invariably convinced that the S models are by far the best bet, as they at least deliver as much as they promise – and for a mess less cash. This time, this RS6 Avant was properly smacking me around when I wanted to be smacked around, squeezing almost all lateral staying power out of my torso and generally forcing the optional 21-inch Pirelli P Zeros to work harder than I've felt rubber work on any such car. This thing is delightfully disturbing.

Buyers of the RS6 Avant can get the stock setup limited to 155 mph, or they can grab the Dynamic package that takes things to 174 mph. My test car, painted Suzuka Grey Metallic (though it sure looks white), however, includes the Dynamic Package Plus – cue the chorus of angels – and is let out to 190 mph. To go with the added speed, the "Plus" includes carbon ceramic brake discs, a rear sport differential, RS sport suspension plus with dynamic ride control, dynamic steering, full LED headlights and an auto-dimming rearview mirror.