Audi A6 Responds With RS6
When launching a powerful executive sports model, manufacturers can get away with a lot. Their cars can often still succeed when saddled with catastrophic emissions, savage fuel economy, insurance bills that read like a Premiership footballerâs pay slip and even crippling depreciation. The one thing they canât get by without is horsepower and lots of it. This is a power game and unless youâre packing some serious numbers, youâre going to fall by the wayside.
Thatâs the position Audiâs original S6 found itself in back in late 1999. Fronting up to the party with âonlyâ 340bhp just didnât cut the mustard at a time when rivals from BMW, Mercedes and Jaguar could all call on a whole lot more grunt. What we didnât know then but do with the benefit of hindsight was that Audi would subsequently launch the RS6, a fire-breathing monster that packed 450bhp or, if you waited for the ultimate model, the RS6 Plus, a whopping 480bhp. With that in mind, we can forgive the latest S6 turning out a âmereâ 416bhp from its Lamborghini-sourced 5.2-litre V10 engine. After all, those who want to turn the volume up to eleven now have the option of the frankly brain-warping 572bhp RS6 V10.
With a power to weight ratio of 218bhp per tonne, the S6 isnât going to be slow. Audi quote a sprint to 62mph of 5.2 seconds for the saloon with the Avant tacking on another tenth, with both cars electronically limited to a top speed of 155mph. With a 40:60 front/rear torque split, the S6 is set up to offer the keen driver some payback while still retaining that traditional Audi all-weather capability.
Audi ploughed plenty of Euros into the development of the V10 engine that found its way into Lamborghiniâs Gallardo and few thought that this investment wouldnât come with some strings attached. As much as Lamborghiniâs brand managers would love exclusive dibs on this powerplant, the Germans pulled rank and fitted a version of it first to the S8 super saloon and now to the S6. Itâs not a direct transplant of the Gallardoâs powerplant, as that engine is optimised for a small, lightweight sports car and features a power delivery that wouldnât make a good fit with the personality of a high end executive sports saloon. In short, itâs just too peaky and aggressive. Therefore Audi have fitted a balancing shaft to improve refinement and have grafted on their FSI (fuel stratified injection) direct injection system to improve efficiency and responsiveness.
Available in saloon or Avant estate guises, the all-wheel drive S6 is a good deal more subtle than many would expect. The restyled single frame front grille and an additional centre air intake with bigger side inlets are what most will notice as the S6 looms large in the rear view mirror. Dawdle a little to admire the LED daytime running strip lights below the bumper and youâll probably get a testy flash of the xenon headlights. Pull to the inside and youâll get a glimpse of 19-inch five-armed Wing design alloys, gently flared wheel arches, aluminium effect door mirror casings and bigger side rubbing strips. As the S6 blows by, youâll have to be quick to take in the integrated boot spoiler, the rear diffuser and the quad tail pipes, singing a song thatâs more SantâAgata than Ingolstadt.
The engine is a lightweight piece of metalwork, tipping the scales at just 220kg, therefore helping the S6 avoid the rather turgid handling characteristics of many cars that feature large capacity front engines. The way the engine is tucked back a little further into the engine bay also promises better handling than the rather nose heavy old S6 V8. Some will be slightly crestfallen that the S6 isnât offered with a version of Audiâs award-winning DSG twin-clutch sequential manual gearbox, especially as its fitment to Bugattiâs 987bhp Veyron has blown the previous excuse that the âbox couldnât yet be set up for high power outputs null and void. Instead, the S6 gets a six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission that offers smoother upshifts but less tactility to entertain keen drivers.