580PS Audi RS 6 sedan ushers in new A6 range

• Extensive engine updates and subtle restyle for latest A6 line-up crowned by new sedan version of V10 RS 6
• New A6 range opens for European order in August 2008 for first deliveries in late October 2008
• RS 6 sedan also introduced to complement existing Avant version � available from August for November delivery
• Benefits from styling revisions inside and out, a major update of the engine line-up bringing fuel efficiency gains averaging 12 per cent and reconfigured suspension for improved comfort
• Latest generation quattro system with 40/60 torque split
• New petrol engine range highlight - supercharged 3.0-liter TFSI unit with 290PS and 420Nm from 2,500rpm to 4,850rpm
• New headline engine in TDI range � 2.0-liter TDI now featuring ultra-efficient common rail fuel injection with piezo injectors � all TDI engines now common rail-equipped
• New �e� model achieves 53.3mpg and 139g/km CO2 output through technical and aerodynamic refinements
• Enhanced cabin incorporates new third generation Multi Media Interface infotainment system with high capacity hard disk-sourced navigation mapping and 3D display

Smarter both aesthetically and technically, the new Audi A6 range makes its international debut this week, underpinning enhancements to visual appeal, refinement, convenience electronics and equipment with improvements in fuel economy and emissions control averaging 12 per cent courtesy of new or updated engines. The new economy-targeting 2.0 TDIe model delivers in excess of 53mpg with 139g/km of CO2.

At the same time, the eagerly awaited sedan version of the potent ten-cylinder RS 6, which like the A6 allroad quattro and S6 line-ups incorporates many of the new enhancements, moves to the head of the range. Its Avant counterpart, like all Avant versions, carries a premium.

 

Two all-new engines in particular will be among the headline-makers in the latest range � a 3.0-liter TFSI petrol unit which makes its debut here to effectively replace both the 3.2 FSI V6 and the 4.2 V8, and the advanced 2.0-liter TDI with common rail piezo fuel injection, whose impressive frugality makes the new A6 TDIe model possible. This 136PS diesel unit replaces the 2.0-liter pump jet injection engine with 140PS, and later in 2008 will also become available in the A6 in 170PS form.

 

Supercharging returns in V6 TFSI

 

In contrast to the familiar turbo charged Audi TFSI engines, the new V6 TFSI uses supercharging to elicit even more instantaneous response coupled with excellent economy. Audi is no stranger to this alternative method of forced induction � Auto Union models bearing the four rings were employing it during the 1930s.

The new 3.0 TFSI delivers an impressive 290PS at just under 5,000rpm, and its equally creditable 420Nm torque peak � remarkably close to the 440Nm output of the 4.2 V8 � is available from 2,500rpm through to 4,850rpm. With tiptronic automatic transmission smoothly feeding in the plentiful power, and the latest quattro system that is now either standard or optional for A6 V6 models distributing it 40% to 60% in favor of the rear wheels, the new A6 3.0 TFSI quattro powers to 62mph in just 5.9 seconds. Top speed � as is the norm for the majority of high performance Audi models � is restricted electronically to 155mph.

Equally importantly, the fact that FSI technology permits fuel injection into the combustion chamber in more precise measures than ever before guarantees outstanding economy, the 3.0 TFSI making up to 30 mpg possible according to the combined cycle test. Its 219g/km CO2 output is a 15 per cent improvement over the 3.2-liter V6 quattro model.

The latest direct injection technology is also at the heart of the new 2.0-liter, 136PS TDI engine. Optimized through the use of advanced piezo injectors, the common rail system not only contributes significantly to major improvements in performance, fuel economy and emissions, but also has a dramatic effect on running refinement.

Economy-focused new TDIe model

By modifying transmission ratios, employing a power steering pump which operates only on demand and an alternator capable of regenerating energy during coasting, the A6 2.0 TDI is able to earn the economy-focused �e� designation seen first in the A3 1.9 TDIe. Special aerodynamic modifications and a 20mm reduction in ride height also further the cause by helping the A6 to slip through the air with an impressively low drag coefficient of 0.28. Despite the 53.3mpg and 139g/km these modifications make possible, the A6 2.0 TDIe with six-speed manual transmission is on the pace, its 320Nm torque maximum arriving at 1,750rpm to propel it to 62mph from rest in 10.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 129mph.

The two new engines are offered as even more efficient replacements for four outgoing units � the 2.4-liter V6, the 3.2-liter FSI V6, the 4.2-liter FSI V8 and the pump jet-injected 2.0-liter TDI. The restructured petrol engine range, the existing members of which have undergone modifications to further reduce CO2 output, starts with the 170PS 2.0-liter TFSI, followed by the 220PS, 2.8-liter FSI V6 with Audi valvelift technology and the new 290PS 3.0-liter TFSI. The two V6 TDI units which share the new four cylinder�s sophisticated common rail injection - the 190PS 2.7-liter TDI and 240PS 3.0-liter TDI � are latest generation versions of these engines which have also been re-engineered in the interest of efficiency. Progress has also been made in the S quattro series � economy and emissions from the 435PS V10 powering the S6 have also improved.

Power transmission for the new range is, as before, taken care of by six-speed manual, six-speed tiptronic automatic and economy-maximising seven-speed multitronic CVT automatic transmissions.

The achievement of even smoother, quicker and cleaner progress in the new A6 range has also been aided by extensive modifications to the standard suspension, key among these being optimised spring settings and the addition of new large-diameter front shock absorbers operating within a revised valve system. An update of the quattro all-wheel-drive system to the latest generation 40%/60% rear biased version also brings greater agility. Adaptive air suspension continues to be offered as an option, a specially reconfigured version of which gives the A6 allroad quattro its impressive all-terrain ability.

These very beneficial advances are enveloped by a subtly updated body featuring, at the front, revisions to the single frame grille, the bumpers, the air intakes and the fog lights, and at the rear a re-sculpted sedan trunk lid, redesigned tail lights and detail changes including a new rear diffuser.