Audi wasn't kidding around when it pledged to get rid of the horribly fake exhaust tips . Praise be, the new S5 sold in Europe has reverted to a real quad setup. If you're wondering about its bigger brothers, the situation is a bit different.
The S6 Sedan, S6 Avant, and S7 Sportback have dropped the fakery but without putting the four tips back. The change quietly occurred at least a year ago, but we can't see everything all the time. Screenshots taken from the German configurator show the three cars with a clean rear-end design that does away with the exhaust tips.
They're tucked away underneath the bumper, giving the sensation we're looking at one of Audi's new S-badged electric cars . But we are not. There's still a combustion engine underneath the hood, a V-6 different than the one Audi installs in North America.
When Audi launched the S6 and S7 models a few years ago, Europeans got the short end of the stick. Unlike the US-spec cars with the twin-turbo, 2.9-liter V-6 gas engines, the equivalent Euro models received a diesel instead.
The German luxury brand motivated its decision by saying diesels were still popular in Europe at that time. However, there was another reason–putting an oil-burner in the S6 and S7 allowed Audi to lower its fleet emissions. The smaller S5 also had TDI power in Europe but not anymore since the next-gen model rocks a 3.
0-liter V-6 TFSI all over the world. Spy shots have revealed Audi is working on replacements for the S6 and those cars are li.