The Audi A6 is a midsize luxury car . Its primary competitors are the Mercedes-Benz E-Class , BMW 5-Series , Jaguar S-Type , Lexus GS and Volvo S80 .
In 1995 (year may be contested!) the Audi 100 (C4) was facelifted and turned into the A6. The exterior was largely left unchanged as well as the engines; up until 1997 the A6 came with several different engines two of them diesel and many of them avaliable with Audi's four wheel drive Quattro .
In 1997 the scene changed strikingly for the A6. With the introduction of an amibitous new design (C5) and a new pack of engines the A6 moved up a notch and was positioned along side the hegemonious 5-series and the solid E-class. The new A6 presented itself with a wide range of engines and configurations. The crisp 2,4 and 2,8 V6 engines presented the bulk of the A6 programme but the resilient 2,5 V6 TDI and the powerful Audi S6 also deserves mention. As an alternative to the manual transmission a 5 speed Tiptronic automatic transmission was also avaliable.
In 2000 the A6 recieved a facelift which saw little change in the design of the car but presented a few notable changes in terms of engines. The 1,8 litre engine was removed and replaced by a 2,0 4 cylindre with 130 bhp. The 1,9 litre tdi was tweaked into producing 130bhp and 310 nm. The 2,4 engine now packed 170 bhp and the 2,8 litre V6 was replaced by a 3,0 litre V6 boosting 220 bhp. The turbocharged 2,7 litre got a tweak on the turbo resulting in 250 bhp and 330 nm. The diesel V6 got a mild tweek as well resulting in 155 bhp (later 163) and 310 nm (later 350nm). A new more powerful V6 diesel was also introduced presenting 180 bhp and 370 nm. Also new was the revolutionary Multitronic drive by wire automatic transmission avaliable in the 2,0 - 2,4 - 3,0 and 2,5 tdi(155).
All models, except the 2,0 petrol and 1,9 tdi, were avaliable with Audi's four wheel drive system - Quattro.
In the late years of the A6 C5 design, a monstrous Audi RS6 model was presented. Producing a staggering 450 bhp and 560 Nm it propels the A6 from 0-100 km/h in 4,7 sec and on to 200 km/h in under 18 seconds. This model saw the end of the C5 design which was replaced in 2004 by a new model.
The new A6 (C6-design) came in 2004. The new model is a bigger car with a more sophisticated technology. Most notably is the MMI (MultiMediaInterface) which is an optional system controlling radio, satnav, climate control etc throug a central screen interface. On the engine side the new FSI direct fuel injection technology was introduced for the first time outside the race track. Although the line of engines represents the same progression as the former model, all engines are new. The Multitronic automatic transmission continues as an alternative along side a new 6 speed Tiptronic gearbox avaliable in the high end models; 3,0 tdi, 3,2 FSI and 4,2 V8 (standard)
Audi S6
The Audi S6 is a high-performance version of Audi 's A6 sedan. It went on sale in 1995 , shortly after the A6 designation was introduced, replacing the 100 nameplate. The original S6 was largely the same car as the outgoing, first generation S4 , with the only visible differences being new body-cladding and badging.
1st Generation (1994-1996)
Audi was fairly constantly re-structuring their model lineup in early and mid-1990s, and for the start of the 1995 model year, began selling the fifth generation 100 model as the A6. Wanting to keep a sports-sedan in their lineup, the company made small revisions to what had been badged as the S4 , and began reselling it as the S6 - the S4 would eventually become a completely seperate member of the lineup, based on Audi's A4 .
For 1995, the S6 was powered by a 2.2 L turbocharged five-cylinder engine producing 230 PS (227 hp /169 kW ) at 5900 rpm and 326 Nm (240 ftlbf ) at around 2000 rpm. The powerful engine gave the S6 surprisingly good performance, it had a top speed of 243 km/h (151 mph) and went from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.1 seconds; 160 km/h (99 mph) was reached in 17.5 seconds. The vehicle came standard with a six speed manual gearbox (5 speed only in the USA), and Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system. It was available as both a sedan and an "Avant" (station wagon) to European customers, but only as a sedan in North America .
Audi had made a high-performance, 4.2 litre V8 available as an option in first generation, European market S4s, and made the decision to continue to do so with the S6, making a 290 Horsepower version of the 4.2 available as an optional upgrade over the 5-cylinder. An even more powerful and very limited-production S6 Plus , also powered by a version of the V8, was breifly available to European customers.
2nd Generation (1998-2002)
In 1998 , Audi introduced the second generation A6 models. It was a complete re-design, and a new S6 appeared on the new platform. It was powered by a 4.2 L 40 valve V8 engine with 340 PS (335 hp/250 kW) at 7000 rpm and 420 N·m (310 ft·lbf) at 3400 rpm, a variation of the engine from the 1994 A8 . The vehicle could now go from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds and from 0-200 km/h (124 mph) in just 21.7 seconds; the top speed was electronically governed to 250 km/h (155 mph). Quattro was again standard, as was a six speed manual gearbox. Audi also made their 5-speed Tiptronic "manumatic" available for the first time. The 2nd Generation S6 went out of production in 2002 , although a new version, based on the 2006 + model year A6 is in the works.