Perhaps the most headline-grabbing feature of the 2020 Audi S6 is the fact that you can’t get it with a petrol engine anymore in Europe but there are other things lurking around the second-sportiest version of the German executive that you should take notice.
Audi has taken the fake-exhaust trend to a whole new level with the new S6 apparently as they decided to make it look like it has a set of quad round taillpipes. The illusion falls apart once you take a closer look – or poke them with a stick as Carwow’s Mat Watson did in his latest review.
Also Read: 2020 Audi S6 & S7 – America Gets ‘Em With 444hp 2.9 TFSI, Europe With 344hp V6 Diesel
While they look pretty convincing, the chrome-finished pipes are completely fake, all four of them. The actual exhaust tailpipes are just two, mounted behind the bumper and out of view. Audi has reportedly done it in order to visually keep up with the model’s predecessors, which used to be powered by engines like a V10 or more recently a twin-turbo V8.
The new 2020 Audi S6 is now offered exclusively with a 3.0-liter V6 TDI that produces 344 HP (349 PS) and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque, sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. 0-62 mph (100km/h) comes in 5.1 seconds while top speed is unsurprisingly limited to 155 mph (250 km/h).
As you might have guessed, it’s not the most exciting of powertrains to thrash but it delivers plenty of effortless performance. Audi went to great lengths to mask its diesel soundtrack in the cabin, with the fake engine sound system mimicking that of a petrol V8. Drop the windows however and the uninspiring diesel clutter will bring you back to reality.
For a model that poses as the sportiest version of the range this side of the new RS6, the new 2020 S6 looks like it doesn’t keep its promises then. The handling, although confidence-inspiring, isn’t that engaging and the whole driving experience doesn’t differ that much from a regular -and much cheaper- A6 50 TDI model according to Carwow and that certainly isn’t good news.