With the 2007 Audi S6, the engineers in Ingolstadt have done their best to win respect based on pure performance, and they're not making any more half-hearted explanations about any compromises required by their quattro all-wheel drive. The 2007 Audi S6 is about pure power, pure cornering performance and no excuses.
The 2007 Audi S6 is actually meant to finally prove the Ingolstadt firm's performance credentials, something it's been trying to do since the first Quattro Coupe was introduced in 1980. The Audi S6 matches up against the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, two sedans of both enormous power and enormous prestige. After testing the new 2007 Audi S6 extensively and comparing it to its rivals, we think Audi has come tantalizingly close to achieving its goal. But only close, unfortunately.
What price excellence?
The most persuasive aspect of the 2007 Audi S6 is the price of admission, which starts at $72,000. Even after an additional $3,900 for a technology package that includes a DVD-based navigation system plus voice recognition (including language skill in French-Canadian) and a $1,300 gas-guzzler tax, our test car's sticker maxed out at $78,320.
It seems like a lot of money, but this fully optioned price is $7,055 less than the BMW M5's base price of $85,375, and it's $7,875 less than the $86,195 base price for an AMG E63. Whether this edge means anything in the market for prestige performance sedans, where dollars spent matter less to buyers than status gained, is hard to determine. But you can't sell out Carnegie Hall until you can pack them in at the civic auditorium, so the Audi S6's ticket price of $72,720 makes sense.
The power payback
If, however, performance is the most important ingredient of your purchase decision, Audi's 435-horsepower V10 doesn't quite cut the mustard. This 40-valve DOHC V10 with direct fuel injection and a vibration-soothing balance shaft has lots of technology to give it a racy, free-revving character at the upper end of the rpm range, but it has to play catch-up to its rivals in both output and accelerative strength.
The S6's 5.2-liter engine is a detuned version of the V10 that sits amidships in the Lamborghini Gallardo, and it delivers 398 pound-feet of torque at 3,000 rpm, a bit more than the M5's 5.0-liter V10's 383 lb-ft at 6,100 rpm. AMG's 6.2-liter DOHC V8 blows both of them in the weeds with a mighty 465 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 rpm. Meanwhile, the Audi V10's racy personality and 435 hp at 6,800 rpm can't make up for the power gap to its rivals, as the BMW V10 puts out 500 hp at 7,750 rpm and the AMG V8 weighs in with 507 hp at 6,800 rpm.
A six-speed Tiptronic transmission harnesses the power of that V10. As you'd expect, the Tiptronic does a good job thinking for itself, judging your driving habits by correlating peak lateral and longitudinal accelerations with the amount of engine power being used and then tweaking the shift schedule accordingly. This automatic's shift action is already tuned to be pretty aggressive anyway, but you can get even quicker gearchanges by sliding the central gear lever into the "Sport" mode. Finally, you can also use the shift paddles mounted on the steering wheel to manually select each gear.
As you'd expect, the torquey Benz E-Class smokes the Audi in the dash to quarter-mile mark, ticking off the distance in 12.7 seconds at 113.3 mph, while the S6 trailed across the line in 14.0 seconds at 102.9 mph. Meanwhile, the M5 took 12.8 seconds to the quarter-mile mark and achieved the highest speed in this group, 115.6 mph. We also pulled a stunning time of 4.3 seconds to 60 mph in the E63, enjoying every muscle-bound millisecond of it. The M5 cranked out a very respectable time to 60 mph of just 4.8 seconds. The S6's time of 5.7 seconds to 60 mph really disappointed us, especially since Audi has claimed the S6 can do the job about a half-second faster.
To us, the S6 feels sluggish compared to these other monster sedans. The 5.2-liter V10 makes the right kind of growl when you put your throttle foot down and delivers lots of torque low in the rpm range, but its linear power delivery makes the Ingolstadt motor feel mild compared to the booming engines in the BMW and Mercedes.
A heavy dancer with big feet
The S6's chassis tuning also seems out of step. The car's standard, low-profile 265/35R19 tires might deliver crisp steering response, but surely they compromise ride comfort, and the S6's ride is as stiff as a drill sergeant's mustache in any case. Audi engineers tell us they've tuned the S6 to a no-compromises standard for performance, but we couldn't help thinking that the Audi RS4 and new Audi TT both do much better in combining chassis control with ride comfort.
When it comes to cornering, the S6's ability to put down power through all four wheels makes it a pleasure coming out of the corners. Even so, this car just doesn't feel like the nimble, lightweight performer you would expect from Audi's extensive use of aluminum in the car's construction. At 4,486 pounds, the S6 is more than 450 pounds heavier than either the 4,012-pound M5 or the 4,035-pound E63, and we think you don't have to look much farther than the all-wheel-drive system to find the explanation.
Fortunately the S6 has monster brakes to help control all this weight. The vented front rotors measure a full 15.2 inches in diameter and are 1.4 inches thick, and the rear rotors are 13.0 inches in diameter and some 0.9 inch thick. All this braking power plus great tires and Audi's trick electronics help the S6 stop in just 110 feet from 60 mph in our testing, an amazing number for a car that weighs so much.
Audi has done a good job of balancing the S6, as the engine is relatively short and weighs just 484 pounds, and stowing both the battery and the engine-management computer in the trunk helps deliver a fairly balanced weight distribution of 59 percent front, 41 percent rear. But the S6 platform still places the engine very far forward in the chassis, so the front end washes out when you rush into slow corners and there's plenty of speed-sapping understeer. Compared to the BMW M5 and AMG E63, the S6 just doesn't deliver.
All-wheel drive, advantage or not?
The all-wheel-drive quattro system doubtlessly gives the S6 more traction on slick surfaces than either of its rear-driven competitors. Unfortunately we didn't have any snow on the ground for our instrumented testing, so our impressions of the benefits of all-wheel drive were mixed.
The S6 registered 0.86g of cornering grip on our skid pad, fractionally better than both the M5 and the E63, which recorded 0.84g. Even so, the Audi felt nose-heavy in the slalom, and while the S6's 67.4 mph through our course edged the AMG E63's 66.0 mph, the BMW M5 was decisively faster than both at 69.2 mph. Once again, we're confronted with the quattro quandary, as an all-wheel-drive car is better in tricky weather conditions than a rear-wheel-drive car that has its vehicle stability control in full crisis mode. The rest of the time, however, the quattro advantage could become a liability to the sporty driver.
Blind ambition?
There's clearly not much standing in the way of Audi's ambition to build the world's best high-performance luxury car, as very few cars in the world can match the 2007 Audi S6's performance on the road. Unfortunately for Audi, the cars that can match and even exceed the S6's performance happen to be the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, which combine leading-edge technology with lavish creature comforts in a way the new S6 cannot yet match.
But the situation might be changing, as a new, more powerful Audi RS6 should debut at the 2007 Geneva Show. Built by Quattro GmbH (an Audi subsidiary) just like the RS4, this new RS6 will be powered by a turbocharged version of the S6's V10. We're expecting an output somewhere around 550 hp, a number that could change the game completely.
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
The 2007 Audi S6 is actually meant to finally prove the Ingolstadt firm's performance credentials, something it's been trying to do since the first Quattro Coupe was introduced in 1980. The Audi S6 matches up against the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, two sedans of both enormous power and enormous prestige. After testing the new 2007 Audi S6 extensively and comparing it to its rivals, we think Audi has come tantalizingly close to achieving its goal. But only close, unfortunately.
What price excellence?
The most persuasive aspect of the 2007 Audi S6 is the price of admission, which starts at $72,000. Even after an additional $3,900 for a technology package that includes a DVD-based navigation system plus voice recognition (including language skill in French-Canadian) and a $1,300 gas-guzzler tax, our test car's sticker maxed out at $78,320.
It seems like a lot of money, but this fully optioned price is $7,055 less than the BMW M5's base price of $85,375, and it's $7,875 less than the $86,195 base price for an AMG E63. Whether this edge means anything in the market for prestige performance sedans, where dollars spent matter less to buyers than status gained, is hard to determine. But you can't sell out Carnegie Hall until you can pack them in at the civic auditorium, so the Audi S6's ticket price of $72,720 makes sense.
The power payback
If, however, performance is the most important ingredient of your purchase decision, Audi's 435-horsepower V10 doesn't quite cut the mustard. This 40-valve DOHC V10 with direct fuel injection and a vibration-soothing balance shaft has lots of technology to give it a racy, free-revving character at the upper end of the rpm range, but it has to play catch-up to its rivals in both output and accelerative strength.
The S6's 5.2-liter engine is a detuned version of the V10 that sits amidships in the Lamborghini Gallardo, and it delivers 398 pound-feet of torque at 3,000 rpm, a bit more than the M5's 5.0-liter V10's 383 lb-ft at 6,100 rpm. AMG's 6.2-liter DOHC V8 blows both of them in the weeds with a mighty 465 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 rpm. Meanwhile, the Audi V10's racy personality and 435 hp at 6,800 rpm can't make up for the power gap to its rivals, as the BMW V10 puts out 500 hp at 7,750 rpm and the AMG V8 weighs in with 507 hp at 6,800 rpm.
A six-speed Tiptronic transmission harnesses the power of that V10. As you'd expect, the Tiptronic does a good job thinking for itself, judging your driving habits by correlating peak lateral and longitudinal accelerations with the amount of engine power being used and then tweaking the shift schedule accordingly. This automatic's shift action is already tuned to be pretty aggressive anyway, but you can get even quicker gearchanges by sliding the central gear lever into the "Sport" mode. Finally, you can also use the shift paddles mounted on the steering wheel to manually select each gear.
As you'd expect, the torquey Benz E-Class smokes the Audi in the dash to quarter-mile mark, ticking off the distance in 12.7 seconds at 113.3 mph, while the S6 trailed across the line in 14.0 seconds at 102.9 mph. Meanwhile, the M5 took 12.8 seconds to the quarter-mile mark and achieved the highest speed in this group, 115.6 mph. We also pulled a stunning time of 4.3 seconds to 60 mph in the E63, enjoying every muscle-bound millisecond of it. The M5 cranked out a very respectable time to 60 mph of just 4.8 seconds. The S6's time of 5.7 seconds to 60 mph really disappointed us, especially since Audi has claimed the S6 can do the job about a half-second faster.
To us, the S6 feels sluggish compared to these other monster sedans. The 5.2-liter V10 makes the right kind of growl when you put your throttle foot down and delivers lots of torque low in the rpm range, but its linear power delivery makes the Ingolstadt motor feel mild compared to the booming engines in the BMW and Mercedes.
A heavy dancer with big feet
The S6's chassis tuning also seems out of step. The car's standard, low-profile 265/35R19 tires might deliver crisp steering response, but surely they compromise ride comfort, and the S6's ride is as stiff as a drill sergeant's mustache in any case. Audi engineers tell us they've tuned the S6 to a no-compromises standard for performance, but we couldn't help thinking that the Audi RS4 and new Audi TT both do much better in combining chassis control with ride comfort.
When it comes to cornering, the S6's ability to put down power through all four wheels makes it a pleasure coming out of the corners. Even so, this car just doesn't feel like the nimble, lightweight performer you would expect from Audi's extensive use of aluminum in the car's construction. At 4,486 pounds, the S6 is more than 450 pounds heavier than either the 4,012-pound M5 or the 4,035-pound E63, and we think you don't have to look much farther than the all-wheel-drive system to find the explanation.
Fortunately the S6 has monster brakes to help control all this weight. The vented front rotors measure a full 15.2 inches in diameter and are 1.4 inches thick, and the rear rotors are 13.0 inches in diameter and some 0.9 inch thick. All this braking power plus great tires and Audi's trick electronics help the S6 stop in just 110 feet from 60 mph in our testing, an amazing number for a car that weighs so much.
Audi has done a good job of balancing the S6, as the engine is relatively short and weighs just 484 pounds, and stowing both the battery and the engine-management computer in the trunk helps deliver a fairly balanced weight distribution of 59 percent front, 41 percent rear. But the S6 platform still places the engine very far forward in the chassis, so the front end washes out when you rush into slow corners and there's plenty of speed-sapping understeer. Compared to the BMW M5 and AMG E63, the S6 just doesn't deliver.
All-wheel drive, advantage or not?
The all-wheel-drive quattro system doubtlessly gives the S6 more traction on slick surfaces than either of its rear-driven competitors. Unfortunately we didn't have any snow on the ground for our instrumented testing, so our impressions of the benefits of all-wheel drive were mixed.
The S6 registered 0.86g of cornering grip on our skid pad, fractionally better than both the M5 and the E63, which recorded 0.84g. Even so, the Audi felt nose-heavy in the slalom, and while the S6's 67.4 mph through our course edged the AMG E63's 66.0 mph, the BMW M5 was decisively faster than both at 69.2 mph. Once again, we're confronted with the quattro quandary, as an all-wheel-drive car is better in tricky weather conditions than a rear-wheel-drive car that has its vehicle stability control in full crisis mode. The rest of the time, however, the quattro advantage could become a liability to the sporty driver.
Blind ambition?
There's clearly not much standing in the way of Audi's ambition to build the world's best high-performance luxury car, as very few cars in the world can match the 2007 Audi S6's performance on the road. Unfortunately for Audi, the cars that can match and even exceed the S6's performance happen to be the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, which combine leading-edge technology with lavish creature comforts in a way the new S6 cannot yet match.
But the situation might be changing, as a new, more powerful Audi RS6 should debut at the 2007 Geneva Show. Built by Quattro GmbH (an Audi subsidiary) just like the RS4, this new RS6 will be powered by a turbocharged version of the S6's V10. We're expecting an output somewhere around 550 hp, a number that could change the game completely.
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
Add A Comment »
ddark13 says:
08:53 AM, 04/02/2011
its pretty nuts that the 3.0T V6 has about the same 0-60 time as this. im sure audi understands this and thats why they're putting in a turbo V8 in the next one and repositioning the S6 to compete more with a 550i than a M5
4maticbenz says:
01:31 PM, 10/21/2010
Forget about comparing this car to the AMG or M, even ordinary Benz and Bimmer sedans like the E550 and 550i will blow this car to the moon in terms of straight line performance. 14.0sec 1/4 mile is fast, but that's still over a full second off the pace of what I would call "high-performance".
Handling and braking figures were excellent, though. This car defintely has a great sport-tuned suspension. Low profile 19" wheels probably helped alot also.