This is Audi's all-new A6 executive car, which goes on sale this June to take on the BMW 5-series and Mercedes E-class. It was unveiled simultaneously last night in six European cities - Berlin, London, Milan, Madrid, Paris and Stockholm.

Priced from around £23,500, the new A6 has a sweeping roofline and a bold grille at the front end which will eventually be used throughout the Audi stable. The new arrival is bigger in every dimension than the car it replaces.

Four engines are on the cards for UK buyers from launch: 2.0- and 3.0-litre turbodiesels, plus 2.4 and 3.2 petrols and a 4.2-litre V8 petrol. Quattro four-wheel drive will be used on top-end versions and offered as an option on other models.

A six-speed manual transmission is standard, although six-speed automatics and continuously variable Multitronic 'boxes will eventually be joined by Audi's excellent Dual Shift Gearbox.

The new A6 has the MMi multi-function control system also used on the A8. Like BMW's iDrive system, it has a rotary control between the front two seats that is used to operate various functions such as climate control, stereo and sat-nav.

Avant estate versions of the A6 are due in showrooms by the end of the year.