Audi wasn't joking when it promised to eliminate those horribly fake exhaust tips. The new S5 sold in Europe now features a genuine quad setup. If you're curious about its larger siblings, the situation is somewhat different. The S6 Sedan, S6 Avant, and S7 Sportback have ditched the fakery but haven't reinstated the four exhaust tips. This change happened at least a year ago, but we don't always catch everything. Screenshots from the German configurator reveal these three models with a clean rear-end design, hiding the exhaust tips under the bumper, giving the impression of an Audi S-badged electric car. But rest assured, there's still a combustion engine under the hood, a V-6 different from the one Audi uses in North America.
When Audi introduced the S6 and S7 models a few years back, European customers got the short end of the stick. Unlike the US-spec cars with the twin-turbo, 2.9-liter V-6 gas engines, the European counterparts received a diesel engine instead. The German luxury brand justified this decision by stating that diesels were still popular in Europe at the time. However, there was another reason—using a diesel in the S6 and S7 helped Audi reduce its fleet emissions. The smaller S5 also had TDI power in Europe, but that's no longer the case as the next-gen model features a 3.0-liter V-6 TFSI globally. Spy shots indicate that Audi is developing replacements for the S6, and these new models are likely to drop the diesel engine as well. According to the company's updated nomenclature, the ICE-powered S6 will transition to the S7. The S7 Avant, though sounding unusual, is set to join the already-launched S5 Avant.
Source link: https://www.motor1.com
