Audi just recently held its U.S. press launch for the all-new A6 (C9) and one unintended story making the rounds in its wake is news that the internal combustion S6 will not be replaced… at least for now.
Credit for the news goes to Steven Ewing over at Edmunds.com who must have asked about the changes in the product offerings. From the sounds of it, a streamlining of what is being offered is what’s in play here when it comes to the new internal-combustion version of the A6.
KEEPING THE S6 SUBSTANCE
In addition to the S6 being dropped, so too is the A6 2.0 TFSI. Only the A6 with the single turbo 3.0 TFSI V6 will continue in the U.S. market. That strategy seems to cherry-pick wider range of engines available in Audi’s home market of Germany where the 2.0 TFSI is still offered alongside two diesels – a 2.0 TDI in various power output levels and a 3.0 TDI V6. There’s also a 2.0-liter petrol e-hybrid model there as well.
From the sounds of it, Audi’s U.S. product planners simplified by cherry-picking the top-of-the-line petrol option that’s rated for the North American market at 362 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque. Ewing notes in his Edmunds piece that Audi suggests the car is capable of a 4.5 second 0-60 mph run that is a tenth faster than Edmunds’ own test numbers of the outgoing S6.
And while the straight-line performance appears to still be there in the new car, it appears product planners also aimed to retain the substance. Like the recent Sport plus package offered in the Q7 and Q8, the new A6 can be optioned with hardware like the torque-vectoring rear Sport Differential, rear-axle steering and a stiffer Sport Suspension. Ewing sampled a car with this configuration and reported that it’s on par with the outgoing S6 (C8.5) powered by Audi’s 2.9-liter biturbo.
THERE’S STILL AN S6 E-TRON ELECTRIC
Conspiracy theorists will no doubt be all over the fact that there is an S6 e-tron Sportback. Pushback on electrics has been all the rage these last few years, but the reality is that Audi’s A6/S6 e-tron offerings are actually great product and, oddly in the automotive space, seem to hold their value better than the more ubiquitous electric SUV offerings.
Rarity may be at play here, but so too might be quirkiness that actually harks an earlier C-segment era at Audi. Optimized for aerodynamic efficiency and understated in a wind-cheating tear-drop sort of way, the EV versions seem to hark the C3 and C4 era when the S6 model range first came to the fore with Audi’s 5-cylinder turbo and diesel options that were also highly quirky when they went on sale in America back in their own day.
WHAT CAN WE TAKE FROM THIS?
Ironically not unlike the A6/S6 e-tron, Audi as a brand finds itself taking streamlining to one of the most extreme levels we’ve seen in years. While not the two-car offering of the C3 era, the challenges being faced due to electrification, trade wars and consumer demand for SUVs has required the brand to rethink a lot of its model offerings.
While the internal combustion S6 may be sidelined (for now), Audi is still readying a raft of S-cars in the next few years, with most being planned for America as well. There will be an internal combustion SQ7 and SQ9, and likely an SQ8 when the Q8 gets its own next-generation further down the line. A hotter S6 e-tron performance is also planned – the repositioning of the RS 6 e-tron as the S6 e-tron performance that rumor suggest Gernot Döllner determined shouldn’t be wearing an RS badge.
Beyond that, Audi’s not done expanding the A6 (C9) lineup. Expect an RS 6 Avant and Sedan as well as a more aggressively wide A6 allroad based on what we’ve seen in test mule form. If our sources are accurate, the RS 6 Avant and A6 allroad are also destined for America.
So yes, while an S6 (C9) may not be there, I’d wager we haven’t lost much more than the badge itself. The new A6 (C9) has a performance model and the RS 6 and A6 allroad are coming as well.
My only beef would be branding. The packaging for this A6 is too understated. Audi enthusiasts shouldn’t have to dig through an Edmunds story to learn that the new A6 can run toe-to-toe with the outgoing S6. There should be some naming going on here – maybe not “S6”, but A6 S line competition with some sort of visible rhombus on the car.
Yes, I know I’m arguing for a rhombus now that they’ve stopped putting the rhombus on everything, but an A6 with Sport Differential, four wheel steering, and sport suspension deserves more calling out than an option line on the window sticker. Sleepers are cool, but when they’re so if-you-know-you-know that no one knows then no one will know. There does need to be some call-out for most buyers.