The Audi S6 is the sport-refined version of the A6 sedan. It is packed with technological advancements and has many small design upgrades.

The S6 incorporates a 435 hp V10 engine, Quattro all-wheel-drive, and a level of technical sophistication that few cars achieve. It has daytime running LED driving lights, 19′ aluminum wheels, dual-zone climate control, navigation system, and Multi Media Interface high-end radio. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come in a manual transmission and owners are penalized with a $1,300 gas guzzler tax in the US.

The S6′s 5.2-liter engine is a detuned version of the V10 that sits amidships in the Lamborghini Gallardo, and it delivers 398 pound-feet of torque at 3,000 rpm, a bit more than the M5′s 5.0-liter V10′s 383 lb-ft at 6,100 rpm. AMG’s 6.2-liter DOHC V8 blows both of them in the weeds with a mighty 465 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 rpm. Meanwhile, the Audi V10′s racy personality and 435 hp at 6,800 rpm can’t make up for the power gap to its rivals, as the BMW V10 puts out 500 hp at 7,750 rpm and the AMG V8 weighs in with 507 hp at 6,800 rpm.

A six-speed Tiptronic transmission harnesses the power of that V10. As you’d expect, the Tiptronic does a good job thinking for itself, judging your driving habits by correlating peak lateral and longitudinal accelerations with the amount of engine power being used and then tweaking the shift schedule accordingly. This automatic’s shift action is already tuned to be pretty aggressive anyway, but you can get even quicker gearchanges by sliding the central gear lever into the “Sport” mode. Finally, you can also use the shift paddles mounted on the steering wheel to manually select each gear.

The previous-generation S6 had a V-8 engine developing 340 horsepower. The twin-turbo RS 6 started life with 450 horsepower and ended up with 480. In the interim, Audi complicated things by endowing the smaller S4 with the 340-hp, 4.2-liter V-8 and the RS 4 with a direct-injection V-8 that makes 420 horsepower. The 2005 Tokyo show saw the debut of the S8, with a Lamborghini-derived V-10 and 450 horsepower.

All of this made us wonder how the new S6 would be positioned. After all, it has to upstage the S4 but stay below the S8 in the corporate pecking order. At the Detroit show in January, we found out. The S6 has the S8’s 5.2-liter V-10, but with its maximum output reduced by 15 horsepower to 435. And, yes, there will be a new RS 6, which is more than a year away and promises to outgun the 500-hp BMW M5.

Audi will tell you this is all logical, that each model has a specific purpose and its own niche in the market. In the case of the S6, Audi maintains it is not just another contender in the German horsepower race. It’s intended as a fast touring car rather than an out-and-out road racer and is purposely understated so it looks hardly any different from the A6.

Standard Engine:

5.2L V10, 40 valve, 435 hp @ 6800 rpm

• 6 speed automatic transmission
• 15 mpg city / 21 mpg hwy
• Green Rating: 51

Standard Features:

• Seat Mounted Front Side Airbags
• 4-Wheel Anti-Lock Brakes
• Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Pre-Programmed Equalizer