Audi S6
Nick Hall explores Audi's Lamborghini-engined über-saloon
Audi S6
Sitting in front of a 1950s Bugatti and a Ferrari Superleggera, it was a shock when camera-toting Italians swarmed our Audi S6. Maybe it was the novelty factor, maybe it was the sexy man in the driver’s seat, maybe it was the V10 engine revving freely as we got caught in the moment. But one girl even gave us the eye and a rather inviting “Ciao”.
It was a strange day all round. We were in a line of competitors at Verona, in the Mille Miglia, an event for stunning machines of yesteryear, gunning the throttle on a car that has yet to hit the public road and winning over the fans. They know their cars, the Italians: the S6 is an almighty creation.
Now it isn’t the world’s most spectacular looker, but that’s the way they like it. Conservative design has long been a trademark and as BMW has gone to the flamboyant flame-surface effect, so Audi has picked up sales – it’s no coincidence.
Athletic and moody
The S6 is athletic and stays just the right side of bland thanks to those moody LED lights on the front end, deep and relatively ornate front spoiler, flared arches, elegant lip on the rear and stunning 19-inch wheels. Tick the carbon-fibre pack and you’ll get inserts under the LED, a new front splitter and rear apron. It might not sound a lot, but it adds that hint of aggression.
Aside from the hint at racing heritage, the interior is louder than the outside, festooned as it is with buttons, the multimedia Driver Information System and embroidered Alcantara and leather seats.
The Lamborghini touch
Most of the attention centres on the Lamborghini-sourced engine that also features in the S8, and rightly so. Audi hasn’t simply taken the five-litre V10 from the Gallardo and crowbared it into the engine bay, they’ve gone to work combining Italian power with German efficiency and installed FSI Direct Injection Technology. Oh, and they bored it out to 5.2 litres.
The end result is an engine with 435bhp and 398lb/ft of torque, enough to propel this über-saloon to 62mph in a spritely 5.2 seconds and on to an electronically limited 155mph.
Audi claims 90 per cent of the torque is available low down, but banzai overtaking moves to keep up with a specific car are par for the course on the Mille Miglia – a bizarre concoction of old race cars, mad members of the media and the general public – and the Audi always needed a downshift to truly find the power band and lunge past the car in front before the next tight bend. Truly believing the PR hype would have resulted in a head-on at least once and flattening the throttle with too few revs simply didn’t get things moving fast enough.
It’s not exactly lacking in torque, but most of the horsepower comes towards the 7,000rpm redline. Still, with a couple of dropped cogs this car picks up like a stabbed rat, which is amazing considering its 1,910kg weight. Keep the revs above 4,000 and this beast feels fast as anything you’ll ever need.
Quattro-ness
But the big Audis don’t sell on their straight-line capability, it’s all about that Quattro badge and ability to stick the ceiling if required – or at least hairpin bends for the pedantic forum members who haven’t grasped the concept of poetic licence yet.
Not being the biggest fan of four-wheel drive I wasn’t expecting miracles on the involvement front. And it’s true the S6 is more about despatching bends rather than the feel at the apex, but it’s more entertaining than it really should be. It can save your behind when a corner suddenly tightens in the wet on an Italian back road, too.
A self-locking diff sends 60 per cent of the drive to the rear and 40 to the front when everything is running smooth to keep the sporting rear-drive feel. But when the car is stretched beyond the normal limit the car can send 85 per cent to the rear wheels or 65 per cent to the front.
But you don’t really need to know that. All you really need to know is that unless you’ve completely taken leave of your senses with the entry speed, the car will take the bend. It corners flat, hard, and with a small tug on the wheel to load up the tyres it will fly through high-speed bends with the poise of a much lighter car. You can feel the power transferring in the slower corners, but chuck it in, hold the line and the S6 will just do it.
Options
And its high-speed cruising capability is second to none, after all these cars are built for the left lane of the Autobahn and there are two tonnes of metal to cosset you on your way. Intelligent gearing, with sixth proving something of an economy gear, even means the fuel consumption isn’t too crippling on a long run.
With a claimed figure of around 18mpg it’s not good and BP’s share price will go up every time you slam on the accelerator, but driven with temperance this car won’t burn the First Class fare-size hole in your wallet that BMW’s M5 will leave and at British motorway speeds it’s relatively frugal. There are other advantages too.
There aren’t 300 levels of adjustability, either, instead the Audi comes with a few basic options, it can be automatic or manual, and soft or hard. That’s pretty much it, but they all work.
Audi has stuck with a Tiptronic six-speed box rather than create a manual and changes range from velvet smooth in the soft mode to instant and savage in sports mode. In soft automatic mode it’s a velvet carpet, in full bore manual, controlled by the de rigueur paddle shifts, changes are instant.
Ok so they might be 0.0001s slower than the M5, or something, but the human computer behind the wheel just isn’t fast enough to detect it and the Tiptronic seems best suited for this particular job.
Raising the game
Audi’s creation is the über-saloon for a more conservative, relaxed individual. It’s a real four-seater saloon car with serious pace when you need it, rather than a supercar draped in a saloon’s body. It’s horses for courses and the Audi isn’t as fast, but this one seems like the more sensible solution for this particular issue.
Of course the RS6 will raise the game to a whole new level, but if you want a fast saloon that covers all the bases, corners like a train and can swallow 1,000 miles in three days without inflicting spinal damage or emptying the wallet, this might just be the one to go for.
Pictures by Lyndon McNeil
Porktastic!
I guess the nearest competitor is the V10 M5, but it really is a class above the S6. But the next BMW along the line is the 550i which is outclassed by the S6 by as much as the S6 is outclassed by the M5.
Weight - point to M5
M5 1819kg
S6 1910kg
Power - point to M5
M5 500bhp
S6 435bhp
Price - point to Audi
M5 £65K
S6 £55K
0-60mph - point to M5
M5 0-60mpg 4.7sec
S6 0-60mph 5.2sec
M5 clear winner, at least until the real deal RS6 turns up to kick some butt.
Exactly! This is just the "warm" version!
I have a 3.0TDi version which is a fantastic car. If I could afford the fuel bills, I'd have one of these in a flash. In fact, in a year's time, once the RS has come out, I bet I might be able to pick up a bit of a bargain on one of these...
Any chance on a Mille Miglia write up . . . with pics please?
That would really float my boat.
The M5 is the better looker . . . performance back to back is about the same . . . I guess the customer will try both of 'em, with an AMGed Merc to compare . . .
In the end the buyer wouldn't make a rational choice
I can not quite understand what's happening in the motor industry.
The figures they are quoting don't seem to mean much these days.
How about a Werther's Original and a nice cup of tea ?
The 0-60 on these cars is fast enough for anyone and then they are
limited.
Folks always want more. In reality, 250 kmh is quite fast enough for
a car, and it is the acceleration time from 0-200 kmh that matters.
There just becoming huge gas guzzlers surely?
True, they are always keen to tell how how fast they go,
but in a true long journey, it's how often you fill up with
fuel that matters.
I rather suspect no one will get anywhere any faster in this Audi
than any other 250 kph limited saloon.
Ah now you see I think that's the whole point behind it. I for one love the fact that it looks like a standard A6 (which is a stunning loooking car anyway) and I guess for those that want a bit more of an in your face look then that's where the RS6 will step in.
This car really reminds me of the Lancia 8.32 in that it has an exotic engine in a sobre and understated saloon. Surely that's the best bit of a Q-car? It's something that really appeals to me about my XJR, it looks like any other Jaguar saloon but does 0-60mph in 5secs, perfection!
Id be quite happy with a 550-600bhp RS6 Avant that looked nearly like a A6 3.0TDI
Have to clarify this once and for all, I am not the Nick Hall that went on Fame Academy. I don't even sing in the shower, it would be a crime against music, which doesn't stop most of the people that go on the show admittedly...
Bizarrely he comes from Birmingham too, lives about 5 miles away in fact, and we even bought a car from the very same place, but it is categorically not me! I kind of know what Mr Cowell would have to say in advance and really don't need that kind of public humiliation.
Cheers
Nick
Have to clarify this once and for all, I am not the Nick Hall that went on Fame Academy. I don't even sing in the shower, it would be a crime against music, which doesn't stop most of the people that go on the show admittedly...
Bizarrely he comes from Birmingham too, lives about 5 miles away in fact, and we even bought a car from the very same place, but it is categorically not me! I kind of know what Mr Cowell would have to say in advance and really don't need that kind of public humiliation.
Cheers
Nick
Begs the question: what kind of public humilation DO you need, Nick?
Nobody complained about da 80s 500 / 560 Mercs. Khamsin and Spada weight about 1700 kgs . . . and that's without the safety and luxo bits.
Just live with the fact that modern cars like these are heavy . . .
www.autoblog.nl/archive/2006/06/05/audi-s6-video-review#post-5762
M5 slasher . . . ?
Why ? Traction is only one aspect of the issue. I guess the M5 will have more cornering/lateral grip even in the wet, which may compensate. There won't be a massive difference in the right hands.
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