The V10s I have sampled from various manufacturers, including our S6 test subject, communicate their dominance with boastful bluster and vicious growls; exactly what most performance buffs live for, S6 owners included. With that in mind, Audi engineers expended a tremendous amount of energy getting the V10's exhaust note just right. It produces plenty of low-resonance rumble along with one of the deepest growls to be heard anywhere in automotive Utopia. Despite the rich resonance, there's nothing loud or immature about auditory notes arising from the S6 as it powers forth.
Harnessing the power developed by Audi's technically-rich V10 requires the application of a complex, drivetrain technology. Automatic transmissions have evolved from a basic 3-speed setup - in fact one of my first vehicles was equipped with a 2-speed autobox - to six and seven speed units featuring electronic manual-mode operations of one iteration or another along with "sport" modes, "winter" modes and more. The autobox bolted to the V10 in our S6 utilizes six forward gears to maximize the polar opposites of performance and fuel economy.
As a general rule, performance - in the form of acceleration - increases commensurate to the number of cogs available. Thanks to the wide range of gear ratios a six-speed transmission provides engineers to work with, low gears - such as first and second - can be formulated for very rapid off-the-line acceleration while fifth and sixth gear can be biased toward fuel economy and quiet highway cruising. Our test subject was so fitted. First gear in the S6 comes and goes in the blink of an eye while one's head is cemented to the headrest by unrelenting G-forces imparted by the traction of Audi's Quattro, all-wheel-drive technology.
Adding to the sophistication of the S6's autobox, is its self-adapting shift program. Add a little enthusiasm to your driving and the transmission will play along by raising shift points and holding gears in anticipation of heavy acceleration. The same effect can be achieved without the heavy foot by placing the shift lever into the "S" (sport) position; or better yet, bump the lever to the right and engage Audi's Triptronic, manual-mode shifting. Now full shift control goes to the driver through either the shift lever or the steering-wheel-mounted paddles. The paddles can even be used without bumping the lever into its manual-mode position.
 |
Harnessing the power developed by Audi's technically-rich V10 requires the application of a complex, drivetrain technology. Automatic transmissions have evolved from a basic 3-speed setup - in fact one of my first vehicles was equipped with a 2-speed autobox - to six and seven speed units featuring electronic manual-mode operations of one iteration or another along with "sport" modes, "winter" modes and more. The autobox bolted to the V10 in our S6 utilizes six forward gears to maximize the polar opposites of performance and fuel economy.
As a general rule, performance - in the form of acceleration - increases commensurate to the number of cogs available. Thanks to the wide range of gear ratios a six-speed transmission provides engineers to work with, low gears - such as first and second - can be formulated for very rapid off-the-line acceleration while fifth and sixth gear can be biased toward fuel economy and quiet highway cruising. Our test subject was so fitted. First gear in the S6 comes and goes in the blink of an eye while one's head is cemented to the headrest by unrelenting G-forces imparted by the traction of Audi's Quattro, all-wheel-drive technology.
Adding to the sophistication of the S6's autobox, is its self-adapting shift program. Add a little enthusiasm to your driving and the transmission will play along by raising shift points and holding gears in anticipation of heavy acceleration. The same effect can be achieved without the heavy foot by placing the shift lever into the "S" (sport) position; or better yet, bump the lever to the right and engage Audi's Triptronic, manual-mode shifting. Now full shift control goes to the driver through either the shift lever or the steering-wheel-mounted paddles. The paddles can even be used without bumping the lever into its manual-mode position.
 |