What price excellence?
The most persuasive aspect of the 2007 Audi S6 is the price of admission, which starts at $72,000. Even after an additional $3,900 for a technology package that includes a DVD-based navigation system plus voice recognition (including language skill in French-Canadian) and a $1,300 gas-guzzler tax, our test car’s sticker maxed out at $78,320. It seems like a lot of money, but this fully optioned price is $7,055 less than the BMW M5’s base price of $85,375, and it’s $7,875 less than the $86,195 base price for an AMG E63. Whether this edge means anything in the market for prestige performance sedans, where dollars spent matter less to buyers than status gained, is hard to determine. But you can’t sell out Carnegie Hall until you can pack them in at the civic auditorium, so the Audi S6’s ticket price of $72,720 makes sense. The power payback If, however, performance is the most important ingredient of your purchase decision, Audi’s 435-horsepower V10 doesn’t quite cut the mustard. This 40-
