This Audi possesses a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Like the .44 Magnum tucked casually within Inspector Callahan's Brooks Brothers blazer, this A6's cannon is cleverly cached within the 90-degree V of the cylinder banks. It's a Roots-type supercharger that, in concert with two intercoolers, forces the V-6 to cough up all 310 pound-feet of its torque at as low as 2500 rpm.

Throttle tip-in is deceptively gentle, but if you keep your right foot extended, there's a contained explosion-your lucky day, punk-when the tach and speedo converge on 25. That's when the A6 leaps like a startled ferret taking only 2.8-seconds from 30-to-50-mph. Even the two V-8-powered cars can't match that. Thing is, it isn't the quantity of power that so impresses as the ease with which it's accessed. All-wheel drive requires extra hardware and weight, but we were incredulous that this was the heaviest car in the group. It feels ever light, nimble, agile, balanced, and willing. Much of the greatness can be credited to the steering, which surpasses the BMW's because it is so much lighter-a boon in parking lots-and is also better at revealing road textures. Bonus kudos to the brakes, tied with the BMW's for best feel.

Body motions are expertly controlled, yet the ride is as compliant as the Jag's. The suspension feels as if it offers huge travel and has no trouble taking a deep, calm breath for long interstate treks.

The Audi further endeared itself with a transmission that, in manual mode, was prescient about adapting to the driver's inputs. It held onto gears rather than upshifting mid-turn, and it kicked down with machine-gun rapidity. We flicked at the paddles and slapped at the manumatic. But in the backcountry, simply leaving the shifter to do its own thing in sport mode proved scary fast around our 15-mile Hocking Ring. We didn't record lap times-hey, it's a public road-but all five voters agreed that the Audi was on the pole.

What we have here is power perfectly posited to pavement, directed from a tasteful and luxurious cabin situated behind a gaping maw of a grille. - Car and Driver