This is the new Audi A6 Avant. It’s about as sleek and well resolved as estate cars get. If it looks good now, how mega will it be once the arches are swollen and RS badges stuck on the back? In short, how brilliant will the next RS6 look?

That’s a little while off, of course, and there’s plenty to get your head around in regular, A6 form. It boasts the same huge roll call of technology as the new A6 saloon, with plenty of stepping stones towards autonomous driving and hybridisation all available.

It should be a bit sportier than before, too, with four-wheel steering and even a Quattro sport differential available to help make its heft a bit more nimble and manageable. It’s longer and wider than the old A6 Avant, after all. Though thanks to its sweeping roofline, no more commodious in the back. It’s also slightly down on its rivals from BMW, Merc and Jaguar when it comes to luggage space.

There are a handful of engines available at launch: three diesels, ranging from 201bhp to 282bhp, and a 335bhp petrol V6. All come attached to an automatic gearbox. None, of course, are the outrageously torquey twin-turbo V8 we really want. Our hope is that Audi’s recent dalliance with rear-wheel drive means the RS6 gets a childish drift mode like the latest BMW M5 and Mercedes E63, too…