Still reeling from BMW's announcement that the diesel 'M5' will not make it to the UK? Well Audi may just have the answer in the guise of a new bi-turbo diesel powered engine.

Available in both A6 saloon and Avant guises, the A7 Sportback and later in the year the A6 allroad, the new bi-turbo powerplant churns out a rather healthy 313hp and 650Nm of torque. This should see a 0-62mph time of 5.1 seconds for the A6 saloon (5.3 for Avant and A7 Sportback) with a limited top speed of 155mph common to all models.

In all cases power is transmitted via an eight-speed Tiptronic transmission and Audi's latest generation quattro all-wheel drive system. This features a self-locking differential and torque vectoring, but should you wish to go further a sport differential is available from the options list.

Despite the increased power output the new 3.0 BiTDI (yes that is what Audi calls it) should still return 44.1mpg with CO₂ emissions of 169g/km - meaning road tax of just £190. The efficiency is thanks to technologies such as start-stop, energy recuperation and a thermal management system that quickly brings coolant and oil up to optimum temperatures.

The new BiTDI range is on sale now with prices starting at £43,810 for the A6 saloon, £45,650 for the Avant and £51,645 for the A7 Sportback. Prices for the A6 allroad quattro will be announced closer to launch.