First Look: Audi A6

First Look: Audi A6

Audi A6 now comes with composite aluminium and steel construction means 2.0 TDI model weighs just 1,575kg, 15% less than an all-steel equivalent with choice of four efficient engines at launch – one petrol and three diesel – teamed with manual, multitronic or S tronic transmissions.

OneShift Editorial Team

03 Dec 2010

The latest Audi model to move into the vanguard of Vorsprung durch Technik is the A6 Saloon, which has been redesigned from the ground up with the benefit of the brand’s most advanced lightweight construction techniques, engine efficiency measures, chassis developments and in-car technological innovations. With weight kept in check through aluminium and steel composite construction, despite enhanced equipment levels, the new A6 will not only deliver dynamically, but also in terms of efficiency, with 57mpg-plus economy potential and low CO2 outputs of as little as 129g/km. UK A6 orders will be possible from January 2011, and first deliveries will begin in the spring.

Aluminium and high-tech steels make up much of the completely reworked body of the new A6, the former accounting for around 20 per cent of the surface area, rendering it exceedingly light, rigid and safe.

Combining the two materials reduces the shell weight by around 15 per cent, and enables the A6 2.0 TDI to tip the scales at a relatively modest 1,575kg – an impressive figure by class standards and one that works in favour of agility, economy and emissions control. State-of-the art design methods and materials ensure extremely low interior noise levels, while precision tuning of all components and systematic hydraulic damping in the axle and drivetrain bearings provides excellent refinement.

The range of four responsive and highly efficient engines available at launch in the UK will certainly not shatter this calm. The 2.0-litre TDI 177PS, 3.0-litre TDI 204PS, 3.0-litre TDI 245PS and 3.0-litre TFSI 300PS units all make use of advanced direct injection technology for the leanest possible fuel burn rate, and work in conjunction with important technologies from the brand’s modular efficiency platform – the start-stop system, the energy recovery system and the innovative thermal management concept. As a result, fuel economy has improved by up to 19 per cent compared to the previous model, pushing the A6 to the front of the class in this discipline.

Credits: wilswong