After the Audi A8 and Audi A7 last year, this year
it’s the Audi A6’s turn to receive a complete makeover. alVolante.it has
published a speculative rendering of the next-gen Audi A6 to portray its
understanding of the new design.
The Audi A6 will move to its fifth generation with
the lifecycle makeover. The next-gen Audi A6 (codename: Audi C8) will have a
very youthful design. The rendering shows the all-new A6’s new front-end with a
wider, more angular Singleframe, sharper headlamps, wider lower grille, smaller
side air vents and sportier bumper. At the rear, the executive sedan will
likely feature a thin LED strip connecting the sleek new tail lamps, like on
the latest A7 and A8.
The next-gen Audi A6 will ride on the MLB-Evo
platform and have a body about 100 kg lighter than now. Without getting into
the specifics, European media reports say that Audi will offer 2.0L in-line
four-cylinder, 3.0L V6 and 4.0L V8 conventional engine options.
The redesigned Audi A6 will feature a 48-volt
mild-hybrid system and the Audi SQ7’s electric turbocharging, although not all
configurations may have them. Electric turbocharging, for instance, is expected
in the 2.0-litre diesel engine. Two plug-in hybrid variants are rumoured, which
could mean a petrol A6 e-tron quattro for the U.S. and China and a diesel A6
e-tron quattro for Europe and other markets. The next-gen S6 with a 2.9-litre
V6 petrol engine won’t go on sale before 2019. The even hotter next-gen RS 6 is
said to borrow the 680 PS/850 Nm plug-in hybrid powertrain of the Porsche
Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid.
The next-gen Audi A6 will have Level 3 autonomous
driving capabilities. In Level 3, the autonomous driving system monitors the
driving environment and controls the steering, acceleration and deceleration
functions. Audi has three technologies offering autonomous driving in the
current production models: the Audi AI (remote) parking pilot, the Audi AI
remote garage pilot and the Audi AI traffic jam pilot.
The next-gen Audi A6 is said to debut at the 2018 Geneva
Motor Show in March. Its market launch will take place later this year.