New 2013 Audi S6 review, test drive

We drove the car at the Buddh International Circuit recently and found out that the real highlight of the car is its engine. Where the last generation car had a V10 related to the Lamborghini Gallardo, this one has a new 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 which pumps out a muscular 420bhp of power. With an equally prodigious 56 kgm of torque, two more than the R8 V10 in fact, it pulls hard and strong in each of the seven gears and we even saw the needle cross the 220 mark on the back straight.

Audi claims the dash to 100 takes 4.6 seconds, and we don’t doubt that for a moment, but propelling the car at astounding speeds is not the only thing the engine can do. It features Cylinder-On-Demand technology which shuts off four cylinders out of the eight when being driven at legal speeds and this helps cut emissions and save fuel. There’s also Active Noise Cancellation at work, to keep noise levels low, which explains the somewhat muted growl of the engine inside the cabin.