Audi has quietly revealed the 2012 A6, but it’s causing quite the stir on the political world stage. It comes with techbology so advanced that it has been banned by certain countries from the United Nations.

Apparently Volkswagen has developped an intelligent infrared pedestrian protection system that is so powerful that the UN is worried that rogue paramilitary groups will repurpose this technology for most unfortunate ideas. Therefore the UN has banned the A6 in countries where gun-wielding thugs are a real threat.

Luckily they aren’t much of a threat here in Canada, so expect the new A6 at your local Audi dealership.

The A6 is arguably the weakest model in the lineup so this new generation is welcomed news. The new A6 gets a reworked front facia with typical Audi LED overload in the headlight design. Do the headlights look a bit off to you? Well that’s because they are. Audi designers didn’t originally intend for the headlights to look as they do, but they had to make them that way in order to house halogen, bi-xenon and LED lighting. That’s a lot of lighting in one headlight unit. LED tailights are also standard and it is now almost impossible to tell them apart from the tail light design of the A8 and A4.

The A6 also uses Audi’s new grille design more in line with the A8 and the A7 (which is not available in North America). A standard trunk lid spoiler and blacked out diffuser can be found around back as well. The A6 is actually shorter, lighter and lower to the ground than the outgoing model. It is 176 pounds lighter and Audi achieved this by using generous amounts of alluminum like th A8. This is good for economy and performance, but extremely expensive to fix should you crash your A6.

All models will initially be Quattro only with a front wheel drive version expected to come down the line. There will be no V8 option at all. Power will come from Audi’s 3.0T which makes 295 horsepower and 325 pound foot torque. Not bad, but considering both BMW and Mercedes-Benz offer V8’s in the 5-series and E-Class, Audi might be outdone.

A hybrid version is expected as well. Audi claims a 0-100 time in 7.3 seconds all while achieving 6.2 L/100 kms on the highway.

The A6, with its larger wheelsbase, will offer more interior room than the 5-series.

For more info and pics, check out Inside Line.