Ten years ago, you could only get 600 hp if you went for supercar royalty, i.e. the machines on top of the mechanical food chain. Nowadays, there are family estates capable of boasting that output – and then some.

Audi, for one, has made a name of itself as a manufacturer of extremely fast estates. Between the Porsche-developed RS2 and the V10-Powered RS6, the German automaker created some capable family haulers.

Even so, brute power doesn’t necessarily mean optimal handling and track performance, unless we’re talking about the latest RS6. With a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 producing up to 597 hp and 750 Nm (553 lbf-ft) of torque, the C7 RS6’s performance is even capable of making Godzilla uncomfortable on the track.

PistonHeads pitted the station wagon against a 2017 Nissan GT-R, and the outcome was intriguing. Seeing an angry-looking Audi tailgating you in the rearview mirror can be intimidating, but is it enough to scare a performance icon like the GT-R?

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