The 2012 Audi A6

The new Audi A6, going on sale in Germany in early 2011, is finally released after months of teasers. America will get the car in 2012.

The new car is same proportionally to the old one and is only shorter by a fraction of an inch, but that is where all the comparisons must come to an end.

The car rests on the A7’s platform giving it much of the same dimensions with none of the look. The lines on this car are much deeper and pronounced, and since the A7 fills the coupe movement the A6 will cover the executive sedan model, with the A8 leading the pack.

The detailing on this car is rich. The wood wraps all the way around the cabin and flows through the car. The interior is changed slightly and detailed more, with a pop up screen on top of the center console. The screen has what they call an MMI, Multi Media Interface, and depending on the level of your MMI your screen can be 6.5 to 8 inches respectively. There is also a hand writing screen which wirelessly links up to the screen.

Aside from the aesthetics and goodies of the car there is also the base structure and body. Although the A7 ad the A6 share the same frame, they share none of the same body panels which are about 20% forged from aluminum. Aluminum parts also consist of the engine bay struts, trunk lid, front bumper, and hood. They cut about 15% of weight as apposed to steel.

Most Audi’s share the same power train (A4, A5, A7, and Q7), so the A6 will start at base with the 2.8 liter V-6 with Multitronic CVT cranking out 204 hp and a declared 0-62 of 7.7 seconds. Upgrade a little and that number is slashed using the 300 supercharged TFSI V-6, quattro drive, the seven speed S-tronic dual clutch transmission and you get to 62 in 5.5 seconds. Of course that one sill cost just a bit more. For the eco friend-lies out there a hybrid will also be available using a 2.0 liter TFSI V-4 with 211 hp, and a 33Kw 45 hp eclectic motor in front of the eight speed transmission.

The A6 carries features from the A8 such as the writing pad, but also the crash detection system which uses an array of sensors including the navigation (don’t ask me how it works but they use it) and applies the brakes as it feels necessary. The steering wheel is electromagnetic now, and that means it saves fuel and can have a fully automated parking assist. Depending on the market they will also have at least 4 of headlamp designs. These most notably include their LED headlight design, but they will also have Xenon, Adaptive Xenon, and regular halogens.

The cars base should be slightly north of 50,000 dollars.