Audi was restructuring their model lineup in early and mid-1990s, and in late 1994, began selling the fifth generation (C4)
Audi 100 model, re-badged as the
Audi A6. Wanting to keep a sports-saloon in their lineup, the company made small revisions to what was previously known as the
Audi S4, renaming it the
Audi S6; the S4 name would eventually be re-used for a completely different model derived from Audi's smaller
Volkswagen Group B platform-based
Audi A4. As this was the first S6 model from Audi, it is sometimes referred to as the
Ur-S6, derived from the German augmentive, "
Ursprünglich" (meaning: original). It was available as both a
saloon/sedan (
typ 4A5), and an "Avant" (
typ 4A9) (
estate/wagon) to European and United States customers, but only as a saloon in Canada, Asia and Australia. Audi's trademark "
procon-ten" safety system was standard fitment.
C4 powertrain From its launch in late 1994, the Audi S6 was powered by a
turbocharged inline five-cylinder petrol engine (parts code prefix: 034, identification code: AAN) with a
Bosch Motronic electronic
engine control unit (ECU), producing a motive
power output of at 5,900 rpm, and at around 1,950 rpm, whilst consuming high
octane "Super Plus" 98RON unleaded petrol. The S6 has a top speed of , and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 6.1 seconds, 0 to in 6.7 seconds, and 0 to in 17.5 seconds. The vehicle was available with a standard six-speed
manual transmission (five-speed only in
North America) and with the four-plus-one-speed automatic (the fifth "gear" called a 'lockup' gear, what reduced the RPM by ~400 at highway speed with cruise control on) as well, with the Audi's dynamic
Torsen T-1
quattro permanent
four-wheel drive system. Audi made a 4.2-litre
V8 engine (parts code prefix: 077, identification code: AEC) with a Bosch Motronic ECU available as an option in the original European S4s, and made the decision to continue to do so with the S6, making a version of the 4.2 available as an optional upgrade over the 2.2-litre inline five-cylinder turbo. The V8 produces at 5,800 rpm and at 4,000 rpm. The V8 version can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.9 seconds, and reach a top speed of . Unlike the five-cylinder turbocharged version, the V8-powered S6 was supplied with a four-plus-one-speed
automatic transmission as standard, but kept the quattro four wheel drive. A six-speed manual gearbox was also available as an option.
C4 brakes, wheels and tyres The C4 braking system included radially ventilated
disc brakes front and rear; with diameter by thick discs, with two-piston floating
Girling calipers bearing the interlocking four-ringed Audi logo, and four individual pads per caliper up front, and by discs with
Lucas single-piston sliding calipers at the rear.
Bosch Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with EDS was also standard. Standard wheels were 7½Jx16 "Avus" cast aluminium alloy wheels with 205/55 R16 tyres. An optional 7½Jx16 five-arm alloy wheel, with 205/55 R16 tyres, an 8Jx16 five double-spoke alloy, an 8Jx17 10-spoke alloys "Bolero" were also available with 225/45 R17 tyres.
C4 exterior Changes to the exterior of the C4 S6 over the standard A6 include flared front wheel arches, an enlarged front spoiler with additional air inlets, larger diameter twin exhaust pipes, and S6 badging on the grille and rear.
Audi S6 Plus As a
swan song to the C4 platform, an even more powerful, limited-production
Audi S6 Plus (Typ Q1) was briefly available to European customers. The S6 Plus, developed by Audi's wholly owned high performance subsidiary,
quattro GmbH was available for sale during the 1997
model year only (production from June 1996 to October 1997). A total of 952 cars were produced – 855 Avant, and 97 saloons. It was powered by another version of the
32-valve (four valves per cylinder) 4.2-litre
V8 engine (parts code prefix: 077, identification code: AHK, later to be seen in the
Audi S8 as AKH). Audi's performance division reworked key parts of the
internal combustion engine, increasing the motive
power to . It was only available with a revised six-speed
manual transmission (parts code prefix: 01E, identification code: DGU) (
gear ratios - 1st: 3.500, 2nd: 1.889, 3rd: 1.320, 4th: 1.034, 5th: 0.857, 6th: 0.730), with a final drive ratio of 4.111. Further revisions were made to the suspension, brakes and wheels. The front
brake discs were enlarged to in diameter by thick. Standard wheels were 8Jx17 6-spoke "Avus" cast aluminium alloy wheels with 255/40 R17 tyres on them, with an optional 7Jx16 alloy wheel for use with winter tyres was also available. The S6 Plus saloon could accelerate from 0 to in 5.6 seconds, with the Avant a tenth of a second slower at 5.7 seconds.
Hella xenon high intensity discharge (HID) headlamps (still with the C4s triple bulb design, only low beam) were available as serial equipment. ==C5 (
Typ 4B, 1999–2003)==