It really is extraordinary how exploitable its performance is as well, now winter's just around the corner. The quattro system is coming into its own, finding grip where there really shouldn't be any; serious abuse is needed to get the traction light illuminated. Coming back from the Cayenne launch, it was shocking how much faster the RS6 felt after the Cayenne Turbo a few hours earlier.

Another big surprise is how much I use the paddles on the steering wheel to change gear. Unlike the SL55's, the ones on the RS6 are permanently 'live' so instead of relying on the auto gearbox to kick down during an overtake, a couple of flicks on the sharp-actioned paddles shuffles you into the right gear before shuffling back up to top gear again once you're past.

The box suits the car superbly, given the car's laid-back demeanour, although the one thing it can't do very well is a smooth down-change. With the throttle closed, a flick on the 'down' paddle leads to a novice-driver lurch as the lower gear engages. An electronic throttle-blip on the down-change is all that's needed to make this 'box near-perfect, because the up-changes are terrific with only the briefest loss of momentum as the next gear slots home.

There's been a quiet revolution happening in automatic gearbox design recently that I reckon could force us to reappraise the idea that they're a soft option for cars like the RS6. In 'sport' mode you can even sense the gearbox slotting a lower gear as you brake for a corner, ready to power out the other side. You never know, at this rate automatic gearboxes might find their way into Formula 1...