Audi A6 Allroad
- jethro noble
- Mar 27, 2023
- 2 min read
The Audi A6 allroad, Volvo XC70 and the VW Passat Alltrack are some examples of one of my favourite sub genres of car. Take a large estate, which is already a wonderful thing, raise the suspension, maybe give it some light underbody protection and big, chunky tyres and hey presto, you have the ultimate ‘Swiss army knife’ car. It’ll go most places you would reasonably need it to, you can fill it to the brim with camping kit, kayaks, dogs or whatever other outdoor paraphernalia you may need to carry around, all while not having to drive a big floppy SUV.
This car however, is one that I didn’t know existed. I’ve seen plenty of diesel A6 allroads, but never in my life do I recall seeing a 4.2 litre petrol V8 one. Such a combination is just early 2000s perfection, back when you didn’t need to own a Spanish banking chain to be able to quench the motor’s significant thirst for fuel.
The engine under the bonnet shares most of its architecture with early V8 versions of Audi’s mid engined sports/supercar, the R8.
Stick an engine that is designed for power and performance in a chassis that is designed for the complete opposite, and the result you often get is compromised, expensive to run, and actually not all that fast because of the weight it has to lug around. However, take a step back and just imagine the feeling you’d get driving this car. It would feel like you could go straight across the middle of most roundabouts, over speed bumps way faster than you should do and not even notice it, all while making a beautiful noise.
These are extraordinarily rare cars. A quick check on howmanyleft.com tells me that there is only one left in the UK. This isn’t the most accurate of websites, especially as there’s a different example for sale on AutoTrader at the moment, but I doubt there are more than ten. I really want this car. Not much in life would give me more joy than loading it up, like I said, with my dog, a kayak, a bike and many other adventurous items and point all eight cylinders north, perhaps to Scotland. It’s just that kind of car.
Spanish banking chains? Hum, I think you need a Swiss one these days. I am perplexed by the fact that a car that you celebrate as one that could give you such joy, could be such a rarity in the UK. I wonder why? I found online that Audi sold 256 A6 Allroad in the UK in 2021, a paltry figure, apparently. Any explanation for that?