Audi A6 Embraces the Machine Age by Casey Williams - www.car-data.com
At about the same time Auto Union race cars were tearing up Germany, Europe was about to embrace the machine age ethos from the Bauhaus and America was awash in Art Deco masterpieces like the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building. Automobiles would no longer be shaped by coachbuilders intent on flourishing them with carriage age leftovers. Instead, a new breed of automobiles would appear as if formed by the wind and steel-pressing robots. Seventy years later, the offspring of design revolution compete for automotive connoisseurs. Take a look at the Audi A6 4.2.
Shaped by a long evolution of German artistry, the Audi A6 flows from a tall chrome-ringed grille, through an arched roofline and sculpted side, to a high aerodynamic-enhancing decklid. A side windowline that extends beyond the rear door conveys limousine luxury. Flourishes are derived from tight creases in the bodywork and not from gaudy chrome add-ons. The beauty of the A6 is inherent – not contrived.
Audi has made an art form from crafting some of the most finely tailored surfaces to ever grace the interior of an automobile. Where lesser manufacturers throw in some cheap plastic and pseudoriffic cowhide, all materials inside the A6 are the real thing. Real sweet, intoxicating Volterra leather. Real wood with aluminum trim. Real aluminum on the control knobs in the center console. Real technology.
Which begins under the hood. German eight-cylinder engines are different from American ones. Not as powerful in a raw sense, they are more smooth and refined. Audi’s 4.2-litre DOHC V8 is one well-orchestrated little sewing machine with its 40 valves and 335 horsepower. Drivers will barely detect the six-speed automatic transmission toiling away, even when firmly planted by a heavy foot. Comparing the A6’s powertrain to a turbine seems trite, yet wholly appropriate. Fuel economy is rated 17/23 mpg city/highway.
Audi designers may have given the A6 an interior worthy of the classic era, but its engineers packed in technology that could only be found in the now. Unlike over-complicated sedans from another German automaker I won’t name, Audi has figured out that humans should enjoy the car and not the other way around. The Multi Media Interface (MMI) combines audio, climate, and navigation controls into a 7” dash-mounted screen and a small aluminum controller with four adjacent buttons in the center console. Even at highway speeds, the system is intuitive, easy to use, and can be felt without looking down.
The fact that it controls a 6-disc changer with Bose Audi Symphony speakers is all the better. Heated power seats, a power tilt/telescoping steering wheel, power glass sunroof, and rear air-conditioning ease away tough days. As an Elvis fan, I left the Sirius Satellite Radio on his namesake station, which broadcasts directly from Graceland and features legendary disc jockey and Elvis friend, George Klein. Dual front, side, and side curtain airbags protect tender parts from interior surfaces during an accident.
Audi’s trademark Quattro all-wheel-drive system is not only beneficial for taming snowstorms, but also acts to straighten curvy backroads. Powering the outboard points of a stiff four-wheel independent suspension system, Quattro never puts a wheel wrong. Four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, electronic stability control, and dynamic brake assist teach the car to sachet over slippery slopes.
As you might expect, fine German rolling stock doesn’t come at the price of underachievement. With competition like the Cadillac STS, Jaguar S-Type, and Mercedes E500, an as-tested price of $56,570 should shock no one. By embracing both an era of classic automobiles and the next decade, Audi has created an Interstate-eating road slipper that caters to its driver’s (and passengers’) every desire. Doing it so beautifully has never before been achieved.
