INGOLSTADT, Germany: Audi will present today its latest S models at the opening of the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show. These models, according to the carmaker, are characterized by power but with efficiency, with Audi saying that its downsizing strategy has reduced the fuel consumption of the S6 by as much as 25 percent while offering sportier driving performance.

At the Frankfurt show, Audi will reveal the S6 and S6 Avant that are powered by new, 420-horsepower, 550-Newton-meter, 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 TFSI engines. Audi reckons this should be enough to launch the S6 from 0kph to 100kph in 4.8 seconds and the S6 Avant in 4.9 seconds. The cars have an electronically governed top speed of 250kph.

Audi cites a number of technologies that lead to the cars’ excellent power and efficiency figures, and these include recuperation and start/stop systems, as well as the new cylinder management feature that can deactivate four of the V8’s cylinders. As S models, the S6 and S6 Avant get the corporate seven-speed S tronic transmission and quattro all-wheel drive. Adaptive air suspension with variable damping and which can lower the cars’ body, and eight different 19-inch or 20-inch wheels are some of the most significant pieces in the S6’s and S6 Avant’s high-performance package. FAST TIMES