The first Audi A6 model was introduced in 1994. Audi created the A6 name when it facelifted and renamed the fourth-generation Audi 100, internally known as the C4, as part of its move to a new alphanumeric naming system.
The change followed the launch of the full-size A8. Rather than being an entirely new vehicle, the first A6 was closely related to the Audi 100, sharing its basic platform and much of its engineering. Audi updated the exterior with revised lighting and grille details while offering new engine choices, including four-cylinder and V6 petrol engines.
The first-generation A6 was sold as both a saloon and an Avant estate in many markets. Its performance-oriented companion, the S6, also appeared during this period, with a turbocharged five-cylinder engine and quattro all-wheel drive.
A common mix-up is treating 1994 as the start of an unrelated model line. The A6 name began that year, but its mechanical ancestry clearly continued the Audi 100 lineage. The next generation, the C5 A6, arrived in 1997.