Few companies do wagons like Audi does. Take, for example, the RS6 Avant – the supercar-crushing super-estate with the 580+hp twin-turbo V10. The combination of "wagon" and "exotic" in the same sentence make for a real attention-grabber, as far as family-haulers go, but push comes to shove, we're not sure we share our European counterparts' love for estate wagons. That's why Audi has been preparing a sedan version of the RS6. The undisguised spy shots of the sedan we caught back in February suggested the car was just about ready, but another set of spy shots now surfacing – a month and a half later – show that Audi may have gone back to the drawing board.
The new candids show a beefed-up A6 – complete with aggressive front end, bulging fenders, side skirts and jumbo wheels, suggesting the RS6 despite the lack of badging – but with a little surprise around back: a rear end styled like that of the newer, smaller A4 sedan and A5 coupe. The shots suggest that Audi is preparing a little butt-lift for the entire A6 range to fall in line with its new posterior styling direction, but is using the RS6 to showcase it first. Like we said with the last round of spy shots, this makes perfect sense when you consider that most drivers won't be seeing much else of the RS6 as it thunders down the left-hand lane.
[Source: World Car Fans]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
In2uition @ Apr 30th 2008 6:01PM
Looks good (IMO).
3seriesisking @ Apr 30th 2008 10:08PM
I agree completely. I like that rear end too. Can't wait to see one on the road.
rsfourever @ Apr 30th 2008 6:10PM
hmmm... so is that going to be the new A6 as well? I was hoping they would distinguish it a little more from the A4...
it looks good, but who's going to recognise the difference between the RS6 and the new RS4 if they both have the exact same back?
Val @ Apr 30th 2008 9:33PM
The owner who dished out a few thousand k more will know the difference, and he is about the only one that matters. Besides, the 6 is much larger than the 4.
duh @ Apr 30th 2008 6:16PM
I love the recent designs of the A4, A5, and R8, but compared to the competition, Audis are lethargic and slow. The 335xi smokes the S5, and for less. The new A4 is several inches longer than the 3-series, and the V6 packs only 265hp. G37? 330. The Lexus GS350 is quicker than the A6 with the V8. Get with the program, Ingolstadt.
Brandon @ Apr 30th 2008 6:54PM
Yeah, but other top sport sedans aren't usually saddled with AWD. Quattro adds a lot of weight, for better or worse.
Val @ Apr 30th 2008 9:30PM
You do realize that one is a 3.2 and the other is a 3.7 V6, right? And this is not one of those OHV vs DOHC cases. Power is pretty adequate, and audi is way ahead of the "program".
nagmashot @ May 1st 2008 4:03AM
duh the 335i has one a single track compare vs the S5 at 5th gear at all other tracks the S5 smoked the 335i pretty hard... straight line the 335i stays no chance vs the S5... in bad weather or b class roads the 335i gets toasted all day long..
duh @ May 1st 2008 4:37AM
1. The 335xi has AWD and weighs less than the S5, and this weight advantage is show in the video below. Proof of weight: http://www.carsdirect.com/research/compareresults?cat=6&acodes=USB80BMC315A0,USB80AUC181A0
2. Whether its 3.2, 3.7, or 2.0 liters, the wide majority of Audi's cars are underpowered versus the competition. The V8 in the A8 is average, and the R8's engine above average.
3. Only the 335 smokes the S5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-_3dyruKW0
taipeileviathan @ May 1st 2008 6:02AM
i hate to say this since i value performance as much as the next guy, but there is more to the story than just lap times and 0~60 comparo's. while the 335i is not a bad looking car by any means, the S5 is just oh-oh-oh oh so much sexier of a car, and the interior is truly unbeatable. given that most of your time spent on the road is *not* going to be tossing your car around to its performance limits, but that ALL of your time will be spent amidst its luxury offerings, i think this matters a lot... not to mention the sex appeal of the S5 which represents the most important time of all: when you pull up to pick up your hot date...
Val @ May 1st 2008 9:19AM
So what you are basicly saying is that displacement doesn't matter, and it is normal for a 2.8 V6 to have stha same power as a 3.8 V6... You can believe wahtever you want, but just because you gave an example with the V8 in the A8, here are the numbers, since you didn't check them first and decided to shoot a blank:
BMW 750i - 367 bhp from 4.8L
BMW 740i - 306 bhp from 4.0L
M-B s450 - 340 bhp from 4.66L
A8 4.2 FSI - 350 bhp from 4.2L
Now you may think that the LS is a competitor of those two, but it only flies in the US, and was basically created to be a rival for the S-class and the 7series. And the above 3 are the ckosest competitors on the global market. As can be seen from above, the only engine more powerful is the one in the 750i, which gets 17 bhp more from 0.6L more, and some additional torque. So you now have to say how much audis break down, or how they rust after 5 years (although they are mostly aluminum), or how the all look the same, or something like that, coz the engine part is not working.
duh @ May 1st 2008 1:55PM
All those numbers prove is that the A8's power output is competitive. Thanks.
For the record, I'd rather have an S5 than a 335, but it also starts at 7k more (and still costs more with options, truedelta.com). The point is that Audi has been marketing the A5/S5 as the cure to the common 330/IS350, when its performance is clearly not up to par. The S5's performance matches the 335's, but costs 7k more. The A5 with the 3.2 is going to be significantly slower than the, but at most 3k less than a comparable 335i. Likewise, the 328i is a few grand less than the 3.2 A5.
Any way you slice it, BMW is still the performance leader. Audi would like you to believe that it has created a no-compromises beemer-beater, but it hasn't. As always, Audi will sell people a slower, nicer car for less than you'd pay at BMW and Mercedes.
Sherief @ Apr 30th 2008 6:19PM
Speak for yourselves...I'll take badass superwagons over sedans any day.
John @ Apr 30th 2008 6:40PM
I think it looks awesome. Who cares if it looks like an A4?
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porschedevotee @ May 1st 2008 4:31AM
Dude, stop spamming with your website. Just make a comment on the article and find some other place to push your products, please.
Noe @ Apr 30th 2008 7:40PM
its was an easy redesign all they did was make the bumper taller and shrink the tail lights and different trunk, but wow it went from bland to cool! nice job Audi!
Matt @ May 1st 2008 12:40AM
I don't like it - the back end looks squished. If they're going to go this route they should paint the rear valence at the very least, to balance out the chunk the rest of the car has (front end, beltline, etc.) The top of the greenhouse on the A6 looks about 10 feet taller than the S5's with this similar rear end.
John @ May 1st 2008 1:18AM
The squished look may be from the angle of the photos... I think the proportions look good from the side perspective.
Overall, it's nice, but I do think there could be a tick more variety in the design language.