New electric Audi S6 launches at £100,000
550hp EV flagship on sale now in fully loaded Edition 1 spec, with deliveries from Feb
Whatever BMW has done with its fast 5 Series, Audi has done similar with its top-of-the range A6es. Or vice versa, depending on the period. When BMW made a V10 M5 estate, so Audi made a V10 RS6 estate - with two turbos added. When the M5 moved to a twin-turbo V8 with 550hp, so the RS6 also swapped, albeit with 560hp. Now, with BMW offering an M-badged electric 5 Series in the shape of the i5 M60, so the electric Audi S6 and S6 e-tron Avant aren’t far behind - Edition 1 models are on sale from today, with deliveries expected in February.
£97,500 and £99,300 are the important numbers for now, those being the prices for the saloon and wagon respectively. A lot of money, of course, though - wouldn’t you just know it - about on par with the BMW equivalent: an i5 M60 is £97,745 as a four-door sedan or £99,995 as a Touring. For that, buyers will get 550hp (601hp in the BMW) from a pair of motors supplied by a 94.9kWh (net) battery. Both models will sprint to 62mph in less than four seconds, reach 149mph and get more than 385 miles from a charge: 388 in the estate and 405 for the standard e-tron. While the i5 can compete on performance (3.8 seconds, 143mph), it isn’t there on range - just 320 miles. The Audi also wins on max charging speed, at 270kW against 205kW.
Standard equipment for the Edition 1 S6 e-trons include adaptive air suspension, which can lower the body by 20mm depending on speed to benefit range, e-sound Sport for some aural drama, 21-inch wheels, organic LED lights, B&O Premium Sound, Nappa leather and an AR HUD. AKA, an augmented reality head-up display.
The S6 variants launch with the more everyday A6 e-tron models. The A6 Sportback e-tron performance and A6 Avant equivalent are available in Sport, S Line or Edition 1 spec, from £69,900. Standard Sport gets plenty of what folk will need - 20-inch wheels, the Virtual Cockpit with 14.5-inch display, heat pump, LED lights, adaptive cruise - with S line adding leather sports seats and some sporty body bits.
Edition 1 of the regular models brings Matrix lights, ‘Super’ sports seats, bigger wheels, black accents and additional safety kit. S Line is £3,500 over Sport, then Edition 1 carries a £5k premium over S Line. As might have been guessed, the BMW isn’t far off the Audi’s price, with the 340hp i5 eDrive 40 from £67,695 as a saloon or £69,945 as an estate.
Mercifully for both customers and those attempting to write a price story, options for the new A6 e-tron range are limited for the moment. There’s a Sound and Vision Pack that brings the HUD, even better ambient lighting, the Bang & Olufsen stereo and Microsoft Office integration for those that Work From Audi; it costs £2,895 on a Sport model, or £3,195 on an S Line or Edition 1 with extra headrest speakers. Finally, there’s a Sound and Vision Pro Pack, available only for Ed 1s and costing a chunky £5,495. It brings both a panoramic roof and the latest generation of virtual mirrors (hopefully a significant improvement on before) that can now fold electrically and promise ‘super sharp images’ in the door displays. Expect a good few of those early cars coming next year to have all the options specced.
C4 Cactus style split headlights as well, not great looking. Just a bit naff overall for a £100K car.
Still, at least there are some saloons and estates becoming available, that's something at least!
Are they doing the same with the 6/7 range that they've done with the A4/5, so there could be an ICE S7?
I just drive to Ireland in my Ioniq 5, and it was a very smooth experience overall. It shows the importance of high speed charging, however, I stopped a few times for a coffee and the loo, and each time plugged into a 200kW+ charger. At no point did I have to hang around waiting for a charge to complete.
Yes, it was a different way to travel, and if you’re the sort of person that loves to just get on with it, electric is a long way off being suitable. But considering I’ve spent the last ten years doing this route in an ICE vehicle, it didn’t really bother me at all doing it in an EV.
Still I like it alot would consider it as an alternative to the Q8 we have.
he's not wrong either. Electric cars are designed to save people money and make the world greener (Apparently) yet, these only really appear to benefit company car drivers and generally wealthy people.
Still I like it alot would consider it as an alternative to the Q8 we have.
Actually, someone did that a while back with an Accord, Camry, Fusion & 3er.
Aside from the 3er's RWD axle placement, they were all stunningly close.
But I do take yer point...
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