Whatever BMW has done with its fast 5 Series, Audi has done similar with its top-of-the range A6es. Or vice versa, depending on the period. When BMW made a V10 M5 estate, so Audi made a V10 RS6 estate – with two turbos added. When the M5 moved to a twin-turbo V8 with 550hp, so the RS6 also swapped, albeit with 560hp. Now, with BMW offering an M-badged electric 5 Series in the shape of the i5 M60, so the electric Audi S6 and S6 e-tron Avant aren’t far behind – Edition 1 models are on sale from today, with deliveries expected in February.
£97,500 and £99,300 are the important numbers for now, those being the prices for the saloon and wagon respectively. A lot of money, of course, though – wouldn’t you just know it – about on par with the BMW equivalent: an i5 M60 is £97,745 as a four-door sedan or £99,995 as a Touring. For that, buyers will get 550hp (601hp in the BMW) from a pair of motors supplied by a 94.9kWh (net) battery. Both models will sprint to 62mph in less than four seconds, reach 149mph and get more than 385 miles from a charge: 388 in the estate and 405 for the standard e-tron. While the i5 can compete on performance (3.8 seconds, 143mph), it isn’t there on range – just 320 miles. The Audi also wins on max charging speed, at 270kW against 205kW.
Standard equipment for the Edition 1 S6 e-trons include adaptive air suspension, which can lower the body by 20mm depending on speed to benefit range, e-sound Sport for some aural drama, 21-inch wheels, organic LED lights, B&O Premium Sound, Nappa leather and an AR HUD. AKA, an augmented reality head up display.
The S6 variants launch with the more everyday A6 e-tron models. The A6 Sportback e-tron performance and A6 Avant equivalent are available in Sport, S Line or Edition 1 spec, from £69,900. Standard Sport gets plenty of what folk will need – 20 inch wheels, the Virtual Cockpit with 14.5-inch display, heat pump, LED lights, adaptive cruise – with S line adding leather sports seats and some sporty body bits. Edition 1 of the regular models brings Matrix lights, ‘Super’ sports seats, the bigger wheels, black accents and additional safety kit. S Line is £3,500 over Sport, then Edition 1 carries a £5k premium over S Line. As might have been guessed, the BMW isn’t far off the Audi’s price, with the 340hp i5 eDrive 40 from £67,695 as a saloon or £69,945 as an estate.
Mercifully for both customers and those attempting to write a price story, options for the new A6 e-tron range are limited for the moment. There’s a Sound and Vision Pack that brings the HUD, even better ambient lighting, the Bang & Olufsen stereo and Microsoft Office integration for those that Work From Audi; it costs £2,895 on a Sport model, or £3,195 on an S Line or Edition 1 with extra headrest speakers. Finally, there’s a Sound and Vision Pro Pack, available only for Ed 1s and costing a chunky £5,495. It brings both a panoramic roof and the latest generation of virtual mirrors (hopefully a significant improvement on before) that can now fold electrically and promise ‘super sharp images’ in the door displays. Expect a good few of those early cars coming next year to have all the options specced.
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