Here we have an Audi A6L 4.2 Quattro, as seen on the road in the Chinese capital Beijing. The big German sedan was in perfect shape for its years, painted in the typical dark black, and fitted with pretty 15-spoke matte gray alloy wheels.
The Audi A6L is a China-only long-wheelbase variant of the Audi A6 sedan. It is made in China by the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture. The factory is in Changchun, capital of Jilin Province, in China’s northeast. Production of the ‘C6’ Audi C6L started in 2005 and ended in 2009.
The Audi A6L 4.2 Quattro was the top-trim top-motor model. It was the first mass-produced Audi with a V8 in China. However, the engine was manufactured in Germany and shipped to Changchun. That made it an expensive vehicle, and it didn’t sell well. Even in period, these were super rare cars. Today, these machines are rarer than a Ferrari.
The interior looked all right, with the original gray leather seats. Most Chinese car owners have seat covers to protect the leather, but not this one. The wood trim looks good, and it has a cool ‘quattro’ badge on the wood panel in front of the passenger’s seat.
Back in the 2000s, large sedans like the Audi A6 were mostly bought by either government departments or wealthy individuals, and driven by chauffeurs. That is why so many car makers launched China-only long-wheelbase variants. Even a little bit more wheelbase makes for a lot of extra space in the back. The difference was only 10.2 centimeters, but the rear compartment looks limousine-like. Size comparison:
C6 Audi A6: 4927/1855/1459, 2843.
C6 Audi A6L: 5012/1855/1485, 2945.
The A6L 4.2 Quattro has a big 4.2-liter V8 engine under the hood. It was the only engine imported from Germany. All the other engines of the China-made A6L were made locally. Output is 335 hp and 420 Nm, which made it one of the most powerful engines in a China-made car at the time. Top speed was limited to 250 km/h and 0-100 took only 6.5 seconds. The motor was mated to a six-speed AMT, sending horses to all four wheels.
Two big round exhaust pipes. The ‘Q’ in the license plates means this is a company-owned car instead of a privately owned one. The 4.2 was expensive: 858.900 yuan. The next most expensive model was the top-spec 3.0 V6 model, with a China-made motor, which sold for 753.300 yuan. The V6 has way less power: 218 hp and 300 Nm, with a 236 km/h top speed. So for bragging rights, the V8 model was surely worth the extra money.
The ‘.’ is gone/
The ‘L’ is gone.
The FAW-Volkswagen Audi A6L 4.2 Quattro is a rare Chinese-German China-made sedan. Over the many years I’ve lived in China I have only seen a handful, and this one is surely one of the best. Sadly, new emission regulations will soon send these great cars to the scrap yard or to the outer provinces, so they will get rarer still.
Let me share something interesting about this car and Audi in China, Im not sure if there is also a abbreviate called ‘BBA’ outside china, it is the abbreviate of BMW, BENZ and AUDI, and you can see the akwarded position of Audi by the order of these 3 brands——Audi is the last, it is considered as the last one of the Tier 1 luxury car, not as good as BMW and Benz, so if you buy an Audi in china, especially a A3(may be 30k dollars)you may be considered as a man without enough save but still try to look like a middle class, BUT Audi is still much better than those tier2 brand in China, like JAGUAR Lincoln, but Audi A6 is special, for its expensive price, will be considered as low profile and mystery, it is widely used in politic activity and some rich bussines man will buy this try to look low key, makes it funny that you may not know the owner of this car is a common middle class, a rich bussinessman or a powerful officer.