missing translation: fa.article-intro.reading-time – Copy: Bernd Zerelles – Photo: graupause – Video: graupause
Oswin Röder is truly impressed: “The electric car package gives us more opportunities to fine-tune driving dynamics and ride comfort.” The team leader for chassis characteristics at Audi and his engineers ensure that vehicles such as the Audi S6 Avant e-tron* embody the typical values of the Audi DNA when it comes to driving behaviour: well-balanced, solid and precise, effortless and controlled.
You can feel this driving behaviour in every Audi, be it with an electric or a combustion engine, a compact or a full-size class. After all, an Audi should always be recognised, felt and experienced as an Audi. The low centre of gravity of the S6 Avant e-tron* benefits handling. The aim is always to “harmonise the chassis and steering so that the vehicle responds directly to steering inputs, driving effortlessly and making you feel a certain lightness,” explains Oswin Röder.
The electric quattro drive of the Audi S6 Avant e-tron* offers a major advantage for the Audi engineers as they can distribute the drive torque between the front and rear axles as flexibly as they like. In contrast to a vehicle with a combustion engine, i.e. with only one drive source, you are pretty much free to define for one electric motor on each axle how much power will be used on the front or rear axle. The two electric motors of the quattro all-wheel drive system of the Audi S6 Avant e-tron* are equipped with a certain amount of additional power for this purpose, so that they can variably shift the torque in the all-wheel drive distribution to the front or rear and vice versa, even under full load. This has a very positive effect on driving behaviour.
In the Audi S6 Avant e-tron*, the longitudinal distribution is also networked with the lateral distribution in the form of brake torque vectoring. Two controllers work closely together to enable sensitive steering of the Audi S6 Avant e-tron* via the steering impulse even under high loads.
The Audi driving experience site in Neuburg an der Donau, Bavaria.
The Audi DNA: The Audi S6 Avant e-tron* embodies the values of precise, effortless, controlled driving behaviour.
The Audi driving experience site in Neuburg an der Donau, Bavaria.
The Audi DNA: The Audi S6 Avant e-tron* embodies the values of precise, effortless, controlled driving behaviour.
Two aspects always play an important role when steering: How large does the steering angle need to be? And how much force must I apply? Oswin Röder: “The angle and torque must be well harmonised for you to steer effortlessly and precisely. As a driver, you want to hit the desired steering angle with just a small steering impact right away, and the car should drive through the bend at this set angle with centimetre precision – no corrections needed whatsoever.”
To ensure that the Audi S6 Avant e-tron* steers precisely – a characteristic of very agile driving dynamics – it has a completely newly developed front axle, as do all models on the PPE platform. This is because the design of the front axle is crucial as to how well a vehicle responds to steering inputs. The newly developed front axle is still a typical Audi five-link axle. The steering is bolted directly to the axle without rubber elements and the steering torsion bar has a stiffer design. All of this ensures that the Audi S6 Avant e-tron* driver’s steering input reaches the wheels with high precision.
In the new axle, the guide link with its bearing has also been moved further to the front, creating more space for the high-voltage battery in the underbody. The Audi S6 Avant e-tron* also comes with air suspension as standard, which is specifically tuned to the sporty demands of an Audi S vehicle with specially designed dampers.
Naturally, the Audi developers attach great importance to long-distance comfort in the Audi S6 Avant e-tron* luxury class model. The electric drive concept is just as convincing. The drivetrain of a combustion engine is no longer required. This means, we lose several hundred kilograms of mass, which are usually elastically mounted and possibly resonating on uneven roads. This effect does not occur with the electric drive of the S6 Avant e-tron*, which increases ride comfort.
Overall, the Audi S6 Avant e-tron* is well balanced. The body structure is always well-controlled, even on poor road surfaces, and the vehicle has a good connection to the road without bouncing. And even the energy recuperation of the Audi S6 Avant e-tron* brings advantages in terms of driving dynamics. This is because recuperation always takes place first on the rear axle in all driving modes.
When the driver switches from balanced or comfort to dynamic mode in Audi drive select, with automatic recuperation switched on, recuperation level 1 is automatically activated. In this setting for dynamic driving, recuperation is adjusted so that drivers get maximum support. When the accelerator is released, a defined load change takes place, which helps to steer the Audi S6 Avant e-tron* into the bend. At the same time, the vehicle is stabilised by recuperation at the rear axle, as a longitudinal force is pulled to the rear. This also contributes to a light and agile driving behaviour.
The precise steering of the Audi S6 Avant e-tron* in line with the Audi DNA is defined by Oswin Röder as follows: “As a driver, you want to hit the desired steering angle with just a small steering impact right away, and the car should drive through the bend at this set angle with centimetre precision – no corrections needed whatsoever.”
