S-club heaven

By DAVID LINKLATER

Audi has completed its high-performance S-series with a 250kW S6 version of the A6. An S-badged flagship is now available for each of the German company's family-car model lines, from the 154kW S3 through the 195kW S4 to the 265kW S8.

The new S6 is priced at $174,900 as a sedan and $180,900 in Avant form. Its modified 4.2-litre V8 engine pumps 250kW of power and 420Nm of torque through a quattro four-wheel-drive system.

Although the engine capacity is identical to that of the standard A6 V8, the S6 produces another 30kW thanks to features such as higher lift camshafts, a retuned magnesium variable intake manifold and revised exhaust system.

With standard Tiptronic five-speed automatic transmission the S6 rockets from 0-100km/h in 6.7 seconds. The six-speed manual version available in Europe is even quicker, but is not being offered in right-hand-drive.

"Initially we were very keen to bring both S6 gearboxes to New Zealand," says Glynn Tulloch, national sales manager for Audi.

"We had even taken two orders for manual cars before the car was released, but major right-hand-drive markets like Britain and Japan said no to the manual version, so the factory has restricted it to left-hand-drive cars."

Of the S6's main rivals, the $185,000 Jaguar XJR and $199,900 Mercedes-Benz E55 are also automatic. The $199,000 BMW M5 has a six-speed manual transmission.

The S6 is distinguished from the conventional A6 V8 by subtle styling changes including flared wheel arches, Avus-design 17-inch alloy wheels, a granite grey grille and the trademark S-series chrome door mirrors. The bonnet and front side panels are made of aluminium to cut down weight.

The S6 shares its aluminium suspension hardware with the A6 V8, but has firmer springs and dampers, more rigid pivots front and rear and a 100mm-lower ride height. The steering ratio is also more direct at just 2.5 turns lock-to-lock.

The quattro system splits the power 50/50 between front and rear, but the Torsen differential can distribute up to 70 per cent to the axle with the most grip, depending on the driving conditions. The drivetrain and anti-lock brakes also feature every possible acronym: EBD (electronic brake-force distribution), ESP (electronic stability program), EDL (electronic differential lock) and ASR (traction control).

The interior features Recaro sports seats, with a choice of full leather trim or a leather/Alcantara mix, Alcantara roof lining, carbon fibre or walnut trim for the instrument panel and doors, and a leather-covered steering wheel with pushbutton controls for the Tiptronic automatic transmission.

The safety package includes front and side airbags, as well as Audi's Sideguard system which incorporates two head-level airbags and side airbags at the rear. This set-up deploys in angled or side-on impacts and covers the entire side window area as well as the front roof posts.

Audi's evocative S-series has its roots in the company's colourful rally past. The first of the high-performance quattro dominated world rallying in the early 1980s, taking the 1982 manufacturers' title, the 1983 drivers' championship, a hat-trick in the 1984 Monte Carlo Rally and victory in the manufacturers' and drivers' titles in the same year.

The S badge first appeared in 1985 when legendary rally driver Michele Mouton won the Pikes Peak hillclimb in Colorado in an Audi Sport quattro S1. Walter Rohrl and Bobby Unser repeated the feat over the next two years.

Quattro four-wheel-drive is now a core element of Audi's production models, and two-wheel-drive cars are a minority in the company's New Zealand line-up.

For the year to date, 60 per cent of Audi sales here have been quattro models - a high figure by international standards. Before the launch of the S6, the high-performance S-series had accounted for 15 per cent of Audi sales.