Still reeling from BMW's announcement that the diesel 'M5' will not make it to Ireland? Well Audi may just have the answer in the guise of a new bi-turbo diesel powered engine.
Available in both A6 saloon and Avant guises, the A7 Sportback and later in the year the A6 allroad, the new bi-turbo powerplant churns out a rather healthy 313hp and 650Nm of torque. This should see a 0-100km/h time of 5.1 seconds for the A6 saloon (5.3 for Avant and A7 Sportback) with a limited top speed of 250km/h common to all models.
In all cases power is transmitted via an eight-speed Tiptronic transmission and Audi's latest generation quattro all-wheel drive system. This features a self-locking differential and torque vectoring, but should you wish to go further a sport differential is available from the options list.
Despite the increased power output the new 3.0 TDI 313 should still return 44.1mpg (6.4 litres/100km) with CO2 emissions of 169g/km - meaning road tax of €481 in Band D. The efficiency is thanks to technologies such as start-stop, energy recuperation and a thermal management system that quickly brings coolant and oil up to optimum temperatures.
The new range is on sale already with prices starting at €66,870 on-the-road for the A6 saloon, €70,020 for the Avant and €78,790 for the A7 Sportback. Prices for the A6 allroad quattro will be announced closer to launch.