December 13, 2006 - Hard to imagine now, but if you walked into an Audi showroom ten years ago, your only choice was something from either the A4 or A6 model ranges. But with plans to extend its lineup from the existing 22 to a total of 40 by the year 2015—more immediately, the A5 Coupé, Audi TT Roadster and the Audi R8 mid-engined sports car, all coming for 2007—Audi is getting serious about being a full-line carmaker. Even the Audis that matter to driving zealots—badged S line, S, and RS—have multiplied like hasenpfeffer.

Which nicely segue’s into this For the Love of Driving Review’s subject matter: Audi’s new S6. Or, better known to enthusiasts as “the S6 with that Lamborghini vee-ten”.



Appearing first in Audi’s recently rejuvenated über-luxury-sedan S8, this is Audi’s first ever vee-ten. Although the German company admits that the S6’s mill was pinched from a parts bin with an Italian label, they also say that there’s been enough technical differentiation from Audi’s hard working engineers to call this mill their own.

Engine genealogy aside, cajoling a 435 horsepower, 398 pound-feet of torque 5.2-litre ten cylinder into the engine bay of the sourced A6 sedan certainly does supports Audi’s “getting serious” attitude. Compared to Audi’s first S6 from the mid-‘90s, that housed a 227 h.p., 258 lb.-ft. of torque 2.2-litre turbocharged five-cylinder engine, it’s also another indication of Audi’s decade long upwards progress. More on the S6’s Lambo, er, Audi vee-ten later.

As expected from any Audi wearing an S badge, the rest of the five-passenger, mid-size sedan has been modified to balance the engine's power.



The sole transmission choice—a six-speed manumatic—has been retuned to deliver more dynamic gear changes. In addition to being able to select "S" sport mode via the console gear-shift lever, an S6 driver can also swap cogs anytime manually with the gorgeous aluminum-optic shift paddles that are mounted on the steering wheel. The S6’s steering ratio has been quickened over the A6’s, and standard 19-inch cast aluminum wheels with a distinctive 5-arm wing design and four large (386 millimtres in the front, 330 millimtres out back) ventilated discs with brake calipers painted black are all S6 exclusives.

Standard S6 rubber is 265/35 R19 summer performance tires, but during this most recent test, slightly narrower 255/35 R19 Dunlop SP Wintersport 3D M+S were fitted.

Inside, the S6’s cockpit is crafted like every other A6—the industry’s benchmark. For the new S6, front occupants enjoy sports seat with integral head restraints and pronounced lateral supports wrapped in Silk Nappa leather. The three-spoke multifunction leather sports steering wheel has power reach and height adjustments. And, as per Audi S standards, the instrument needles are in white and its numbers use characteristic S-style italics; the dials are in dark grey.



What is missing is any kind of external bling. Except for the spicy rims, four tailpipes and various S6 and V10 badges, there’s little to differentiate the S6 from a cooking A6 3.2. Even the daytime LED lights mounted beneath the headlights on the U.S. and European models are absent form Canadian models. Blame our government’s bumper laws, not Audi Canada for their absence…

What’s also missing—surprisingly, given the motor—is any kind of hair-raising excitement from behind the S6’s driver’s seat.

It’s not like the new S6 is slow. Standstill to 100 kilometres per hour takes only 5.1 seconds, and the S6 tops out at an electronically limited 250 km/h. But the experience of achieving these numbers in the S6 is one of calm, composure and confidence.

The vee-ten, being tuned for high rpm power (435 h.p. at 6,800), and low rpm torque (over 90 percent of the torque is available from as low as 2,300 rpm), certainly sets the grand touring tone.



Whereas Lamborghini mates manual and sequential manual transmissions, Audi had to drop the rev limiter to save the torque converter in its Tiptronic tranny, losing the Gallardo’s high-pitched shrill in the process. If anything, throttle response is too immediate at low speeds, but once you have your foot in it, the throaty rumble that only an engine with ten pots can create is one of the strong and silent variety. Aurally, the S6 vee-ten’s not as racy and raucous as the smaller, more hyper RS4’s 420 h.p., 317 lb.-ft. of torque 4.2-litre vee-eight, but the ten is definitely smoother and more refined than the eight.

The S6’s steering and handling produces similarly sophisticated results.

Turning the S6 delivers linear and weighted responses, lacking only the feel that a true sports sedan like the RS4 would possess. Audi’s new Torsen-equipped quattro system can send up to 85 % of its torque to the rear wheels, primarily to mitigate inherent understeer, as the vee-ten sits longitudinally in front of the front wheels like a surfer hanging ten (toes, not cylinders). Where the RS4 is blessed with Audi’s new Dynamic Ride control system— reducing roll and pitch by diagonally linking opposed shocks, enabling the nose heavy Audi to be neutral at its relatively high limits—the more muted S6 doesn’t.



After having been chauffeured around Mosport by Audi R10 pilot Allan McNish, flogging the car on the track during this year’s AJAC COTY testing event, plus a week with this S6 test car, it becomes apparent the S6 isn’t a car begging for a day at the track. It’s just not type of car. Beyond all the hype about “the S6 with that Lamborghini vee-ten”, the Audi scores more points as a swift-but-stealthy Q-ship rather than a balls-to-the-wall sports sedan.

If you never drove a BMW M5 or Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG, the Audi S6 would seem like a rocket.

But then, those cars will respectively run you an additional $11,400 and $17,900 more than the $101,900 Audi asks for their S6.

In fairness to Audi, the forthcoming A6-based RS6 will reputably show up with over 500 h.p. from a twin-turbo vee-ten and the physics-denying Dynamic Ride control system and a price tag similar to the mentioned above Teutons.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for an all-weather, unassuming sedan that haul five in sophisticated comfort—and dust off some impressive performance numbers when called upon—right now, the 2007 Audi S6 occupies a slot in the market all by itself.
 
- John LeBlanc, Publisher, www.straight-six.com



Just the facts...
Build quality 
Features 
Performance 
Fun-to-drive 
Overall value 

TYPE OF VEHICLE: Front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
ENGINE: 5.2-litre vee-ten
POWER: 435 h.p. @ 6,800 @ rpm, 398 lb.-ft. of torque @ 3,000-4,000 r.p.m.
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed automatic with Tiptronic and Automatic Shift Lock
BRAKES: Electronic stability program (ESP 8) with anti-lock brake, electronic rear brake pressure proportioning, vacuum power assist, asbestos free linings, dual diagonal circuits.
CURB WEIGHT: 2,035 kg
HP/KG: 21.4
0-100 km/h: 5.1 seconds.
TOP SPEED: Electronically limited to 250 km/h
TIRES: 255/35 R19 Dunlop SP Wintersport 3D M+S
BASE PRICE/AS TESTED: $101,900/$107,440
FUEL ECONOMY: L/100 km 15.2 city, 10.4 hwy.
OPTIONS: Technology Package $3,700; Voice Recognition (English); Advanced Key; Audi Navigation System (Includes Map DVD); Rear heated seats $290; Driver's Side Leather Dashboard $1,550.