Around the turn of the millennium, Audi took an A6 Avant, gave it a set of high heels, and glued on some plastic cladding to create the A6 Allroad. Even though it developed a reputation for going wrong constantly, it was and still is as cool as a walk-in freezer. A lifted, ruggedized, turbocharged or V8 wagon with a properly handsome silhouette. While Audi’s offered subsequent generations of A6 Allroad, none have quite captured the X-factor of the original. Until now.
Because simply slapping cladding on an A6 Avant wouldn’t be enough, Audi went the extra mile by running the classic play of a proper widebody. Some 4.3 inches wider than a standard A6 Avant, and much of that’s in the metal. Those front fenders have shades of RS5 to them, and the pumped rear haunches provide an outrageous view from the rear.
Then there are the wonderfully concave six-spoke alloys, a strong face design fitting Audi’s stance alterations. Track width runs a serious 2.9 inches wider up front and 2.75 inches wider out back, perfect for accommodating up to 285-section tires. Make no mistake, this thing has stance, big-time.
Speaking of the stance, the A6 Allroad normally sits 1.34 inches higher than a standard A6 Avant, largely due to its new air suspension. Air ride’s been a hallmark of Allroads ever since the first generation, and this latest model features 2.16 inches of height adjustability. A little bit of flexibility for highway cruising and gravel crushing. Hit the switch to raise the ride height further, and you’re looking at nearly two inches of extra clearance. Not bad.
Could these wide fenders be a preview of the next RS6? It’s quite possible, but Audi’s not saying right now. What Audi has said, however, is perhaps even more interesting. The new A6 Allroad isn’t just something to gaze at longingly, wishing to import when it’s finally legal. Audi has already announced it’s bringing it stateside.
While we don’t yet know what will power the new A6 Allroad when it makes it across the Atlantic, it should be available with four-wheel steering and a choice of 19-, 20-, or 21-inch wheels. All the mod-cons you’d expect should be offered too, from massaging seats to four-zone climate control to a Bang & Olufsen sound system. That’s all well and good, but the look of this thing might just be the big story.
Roughly fifteen years ago, Audi was on top of the world. Iron Man was driving its supercar, the S5 and A7 were instant objects of desire, and even the A4 just made its two main German competitors look old. Audis were clean, crisp, and cool. Then the novelty faded, with models like the B9 A4 largely just iterating on Walter de Silva’s mold-breaking language.
When it came time for something new, the marque went all blobby, resulting in recent debuts like the new Q5 and the anticlimactic third-generation A5. Sales have been in a spiral for years, and the only way to fix that is to build great cars. The new A6 Allroad elicits a level of visual desire I haven’t felt from an Audi in ages, and if it and the new Q7 are any indication, Audi seems to be finding its footing again.
Top graphic image: Audi
I just went to the build web site for the A6. The only thing that interests me is the optional OLED rear lights. Somewhat more than a decade ago, I was part of the team that developed the flexible encapsulation that made flexible super-thin OLED displays possible. We had some interest from one of the manufacturers of rear lights for Audi. I think it might have been OSRAM. It didn’t go anywhere because the OLEDs at the time couldn’t survive the temperature-humidity-time requirements. I’m pleased to see the advancements in OLED materials technology that allowed this to happen. I can’t tell from the photos, but I wonder if the OLED lights have some interesting shape/design that takes advantage of flexibility.
The Audi four rings emblem hanging down over the grill looks cool. Please tell me it’s not illuminated. The rear haunches are a step or two too much for me.
I thought the A7 was GORGEOUS when it first came out. It still is, but I don’t know how well they age. Maybe I should check out a forum for those things.
If I ever have a two-car garage again, I might pick up a used one. My relatively simple ’01 Jetta was not the paradigm of reliability, but it was a fun car to drive.
Hydro/pneumatic suspensions give me at least a yellow flag. My wife’s BMW X5 developed a Carolina squat when left parked for more than 30 minutes.
Did I miss the estimated price? With tariffs, etc., I’m curious…
Who wouldn’t like a widebody AWD performance wagon with a lovely interior? Nobody, provided that you’ve got the cash and don’t worry about depreciation or long-term cost of ownership since it’s an Audi. But get it in an actual color, please?
“Speaking of the stance, the A6 Allroad normally sits 1.34 inches higher than a standard A6 Avant, largely due to its new air suspension. Air ride’s been a hallmark of Allroads ever since the first generation, and this latest model features 2.16 inches of height adjustability.”
Ah yes… the air suspension… helping the Allroad carry on the tradition of being a reliability and TCO disaster.
Also those low profile tires and oversized wheels are a STUPID choice for doing even mild offroading.
“it should be available with four-wheel steering”
Oh joy… now you can have an TWO sets of steering racks and tie rods that will need repair.
“While we don’t yet know what will power the new A6 Allroad”
Whatever it is, I’m gonna guess that it will be something that requires the full disassembly of the front end (The “service position”) for relatively routine maintenance/repair items.
The Audi service position originates from the fact that Audis have traditionally had their engines hanging out past the front axle, but mounted longitudinally. In order to get at important service aspects of the vehicle, like the belts and accessories, you typically needed to remove the front fascia, bumper iron and possibly the radiator and condenser.
But it was rarely all that much work to put the cars into service position. It took me 25 minutes to remove the fascia and bumper iron from my 2005 Volkswagen Phaeton (a famously complicated, overbuilt car that happens to use the Audi layout)…and I even had a set of VW pins that allowed me to slide forward the carrier for the radiator and condenser, providing more space between those components and the front of the engine.
Audi still uses a layout that places the engine further forward than in other longitude-engined cars, but it is more rearward than in early Audis and the wheels are further forward. This began with the B8 generation of small cars and has carried forward to iterations of the MLB platform. The C9 A6 family uses the latest iteration of MLB, which is known as Premium Platform Combustion (PPC). Volkswagen, Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini have also used the Audi layout at one point or another, and most of them do currently on at least one product. But on the list of expensive maintenance aspects of a modern German luxury car, I wouldn’t say the necessity of the “service position” rates in the top ten.
My, what a shiny console.
Would only be interested if it’s got a PHEV or EREV power train with at least 60 miles of battery range. Then the price would have to be right and yet, arrrrghhh, hate all the screens