In a world where there are many, many ways to go fast, the Audi S6 opts to do so quietly. Make no mistake, though, this is indeed a fast car.
It is, in an age of SUVs with outsized power and EVs with aspirations of drag racing, easy to forget about the Audi S6. Even in traffic, Audi’s sleekly subtle luxury sports sedan is surreptitious. Not even pearl-effect Aviator Gray paint can make an attention-seeker out of the S6.
That’s hardly a bad thing, of course. The concept of a „Q-car“ or „sleeper“ is a well-established one: a vehicle that, by dint of its discretion, avoids anything so louche as vocal plaudits for its performance capabilities. In a world where there are many, many ways to go fast, the Audi S6 opts to do so quietly.
Make no mistake, though, this is indeed a fast car; the 2.9-liter TFSI V6 under the carefully-creased hood sees to that. And, with its lashings of technology and creature comforts, the S6 is a highly pleasant place from which to enjoy that speed. You just need the right mindset for it.Restraint is a style decision
That includes embracing Audi’s elegant design language, which now looks even more restrained than when this generation of S6 launched back in 2020. Even then, the large — but not obnoxious — grille, sober silhouette, and crisp lighting looked mature and even a little conservative. These days, with rivals apparently competing to give their final few gas-powered vehicles the most ostentatious snout possible, the S6 feels like James Bond’s suit hung up amid Austin Powers‘ wardrobe.
Audi actually has a couple of brighter colors — a fetching Tango Red, and a deep Ultra Blue — on the S6’s options sheet, though I’m a sucker for a darker metallic gray on a sedan like this. It looks and feels timeless, though here the $4,000 S Sport package and $2,500 Design Edition package do add a little more obvious presence.
The former adds a sport exhaust and red brake calipers, along with all-wheel steering and the sport rear differential. The latter, meanwhile, includes 21-inch V-spoke design wheels, a black roof, Liquid Dark Chrome finish front and rear valance elements, an Audi Sport design interior, heated sports steering wheel, and Dinamica knee pads. $475 Audi S-beam lights round things out nicely.Six cylinders are more than enough
Gone, sadly, is the pleasing V8 of the last-generation S6. Even so, despite being two cylinders down, Audi’s V6 is a potent one. Power is actually up over that eight-cylinder, with the twin turbochargers helping coax out 444 horsepower and 442 lb-ft of torque to play with.
It’s paired with an eight-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission and standard Quattro all-wheel drive.
