Audi, BMW and Benz to Make a Trio of Superwagons
If you’re a car fan like me, some of the most appealing cars on the face of the planet come from Bavaria. And, if you’re like me, your heart says to go with something like a Porsche 911, but your head says, you can’t forget the wife, kids, dog and luggage. Well, those Germans have gone about to solve the problem by creating an entire new breed of superwagon. Germancarfans.com has spyshots of three tantalizing vehicles which might pique your interest - the new S6 Avant, the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, and the soon to be king of wagons, the BMW M5 Touring.
The site reports that Audi’s offering, the new S6, will be available in both sedan and wagon at its launch at next year’s Geneva Motor Show. It will be powered by a detuned version of the 5.2 litre V10 engine fitted to the S8, tweaked to around 440 horsepower and harnessed to the ground by Audi’s famous quattro all wheel drive system. The M5-beating RS6 is expected to show up about a year later yielding an additional 110 ponies.
Meanwhile, in Stuttgart, Mercedes-Benz is playing catch-up to BMW and Audi with a facelifted version of the E-Class. The new car, due out sometime in 2006 will sport new bumpers, and a host of internal changes, but the biggest change is expected for the top AMG version. Expect the ‘55′ nameplate to be retired, as a new 6.3 litre V8 is on its way in. Featured in the ML and R-Class, this powerful new engine should produce around 470 horses, and will be available in the T-Model (wagon) variant of the E-Class.
If you keep your nose to the ground, you’ll have heard about Germany’s final offering, the BMW M5 Touring. Having skipped out an entire generation, BMW is getting ready to return to the high-performance wagon arena with the unstoppable M5 Touring. Powered by the almighty 507 horsepower V10 found in the standard M5 and M6, this should be the fastest, quickest and best-handling load-lugger on the planet. Expect it to make a debut in Geneva, alongside the S6.