Do you expect people in the market for a 2 seater coupe to be the same for those looking for a large, family estate car?
I doubt the Cayenne took many sales from the 911.
The Cayenne isn't marketed as a sports car. The R8 and RS6 are incredibly similar. One's a wagon, one's a coupe, yet both remain sports cars.
A manual is comming and its is sorta different to the SLR as this is a large luxury family vehicle. The SLR is not.
I used the SLR as an example.
I just don't think an auto transmission is a good reason for leaving negative comments regarding a car such as the RS6.
Cars like the SLR (from the given example) are excellent and being that I don't hold any magazine journalist above unreasonable bias, I'd have to say the criticisms of the SLR purely on the basis of using an auto are simply that- unreasonable bias.
Don't get me wrong, I know the joy of shifting for yourself but the fact is, these autos are not bad and certainly serve the task at hand with ease.
The automatic is not made a negative because it's being an automatic. It's a negative, because an Auto
hurts performance times. The SLR has the potential to be faster than a Carrera GT. However, critics despise the car's transmissions because the Auto shifts when it wants to, not when the driver knows is best.
Overkill? Trying to tell us something? Simple fact is this: power is monotonic. More is better. Germany is locked in a massive horsepower battle that will only end legislatively. I was, in truth, surprised that the RS6 was developing less than 600bhp.
More is not better. That's the typical American manufacturer view. Throw 100 horses on it, slightly tweak it, and call it new. Thankfully, this Audi's got a bit of distance between the old RS6, but the thinking is slightly similar.
Germany is not locked in a massive horsepower battle because the Germans do not rely on power. They rely on suspension and braking technology. Look at every European sports car. Gallardo at 520, E63 AMG at 514, R8 at 420bhp, 911 Turbo at 480, F430 at 483, and the GT3 at 415Bhp.
Now, look at the RS6. 572horses. No one is that range because no needs to be. Most of the 600Hp cars are extremely high performance cars ranging in the $200,000-$500,000 range.
And what you need to remember is that Audi could have sold the entire production of the previous-gen RS6 twice over. There is massive demand for this thing.
No, what
you need to remember is that Audi didn't have a car like the R8 for sale at the same time.
I
gurantee you, if Audi prices the RS6 in R8 territory, they can kiss those orders goodbye because folks will see a car with more room and performance for the same cost.
People still buy the M6, despite the M5 Touring being out.
Big difference. The M5 Touring and the M6 run the same engine output leaving the deciding factor to be whether you want a wagon or a coupe, without getting major differences in performane.
The M6 and M5 Touring sit on an equal level.
The RS6 though with over a 100 horses more leaves you deciding if you really want the coupe, or the RS6 which will provide more of everything.
With the Audis, people will potentially lean towards the RS6 just because the performance will be better for, (assuming) the same price.