The last-generation Audi S6 (which, oddly, was sold in Canada only as a wagon) was powered by a 340-hp, 4.2-litre V8. With even the regular A6 V8 now making more power than that, Audi obviously needed to pull something out of the hat for the new "S" derivative. And with a 5.2-litre, 435-hp V10 under the hood of the new one, we'd say, "mission accomplished." Working through a 6-speed automatic and quattro all-wheel drive, the S6 does the 0-100 dash in 5.5 seconds and sounds glorious doing it. The handling is as agile as it is unflappable. We're not unanimously enamoured of the dashboard, but otherwise interior comfort and furnishings are all we've come to expect from Audi.

Speed, space, style and sybaritic luxury

German rivals have even bigger cojones