Audi S5 2008 News

A rush of new product in recent years has given a solid run of double- digit growth

The Ingolstadt marque — whose launches have a clockwork regularity — will by July have introduced an insane station wagon, a cute cabrio, a sexy coupe and their crucial mid-size sedan.The RS6 Avant, TTS, A3 cabrio and their all-important BMW 3 Series rival, the new A4, will be showcased at the Melbourne International Motor Show. With the atmo V10-powered S6 sedan obviously considered on the soft side, the RS6 Avant cops a twin-turbo version good for 426kW/650Nm and a 0-100km/h sprint time of a claimed 4.6 seconds.Essentially an all-wheel-drive family wagon with near-supercar performance, it's priced at $259,000. As one of Audi's typically gnomic marketing blurbs puts it, the uber-wagon buyer is “likely to be a highly successful 45- to 64-year-old businessman with a family.” Right ...By contrast, the TTS — available locally in coupe or cabrio form from July — will be driven by one who is a “culturally-minded 25- to 64-year-old with a strong interest in fashion, architecture and design.” Of course.Packing the same hugely enhanced version of the 2.0-litre direct injection turbo four that motivates the S3, the range-topping TTS gets quattro all-wheel-drive and a choice of S-tronic robotised manual or a proper 6-speed manual transmissions. If you happen to be “25 to 54 years with an active, outgoing approach to life and a love of the outdoors” then you'll just love the A3 Cabriolet. Apparently.At a time when drop tops are hardening up, this one retains a lightweight soft top. Due here in July, it will want to be pretty good if it's to succeed — not so much against BMW's 125i, but Volkswagen's Eos.But it's those between “30 and 54 years with a young family, and likely to be in a management role with an interest in design, technology and computing” that Audi really needs to land with the largely new A4 sedan.Due in April, pricing for the sedan (the wagon follows later) has been announced. It starts at $50,900 for the 1.8 TFSI manual and $53,500 for the multitronic auto; $54,900 for the 2.0-litre TDI diesel in auto and $88,500 for the 3.2-litre FSI quattro tiptronic.A 2.7-litre TDI multitronic, at $67,900, follows in May or June, with a 2.0-litre TFSI quattro later in the year.Built on the MDS platform already available in the S5 and A5 coupe, the A4 should have the same marginally improved ride and handling. 

The brain's logical left lobe would probably dictate a highly specced and relentlessly reliable Japanese model.The riotous right side might love something Latin.Call it a feeling from the gut, then, but some part of you simply must have a badge featuring either a blue-and-white roundel or a three-pointed star. Or even four rings.Never mind that they're almost always over-priced for the package on offer and about as suited to Australian roads as Beethoven to a Shannon Noll audience, but we seem unable to get enough of the wares offered by BMW, Mercedes-Benz and increasingly, Audi.Which is just as well, given that there will be releases from all three marques this month.June marks the opening salvo of a second-half-of-'07 product offensive on three fronts, using every type of armament at the makers' disposal; from diesel hatchbacks through high-end sports machines to ferociously powerful SUVs.In popular terms, the most significant of these is the new-generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class.The W204 series arrives next month with the four-cylinder Kompressors, V6 petrols and two diesel models.A six-cylinder purchase gets you a seven-speed auto transmission, but the fours make do with five speeds.Hard to say where the pricing will sit at this point, though a slight increase on the current model is possible.A more dynamic driving experience is promised, something to which Merc's Agility Control system is central.Indications from the world launch in Spain are that Mercedes' best-selling product has achieved that stated aim within a veneer of sexier, or slightly less conservative, styling.Of course, this launch took place on European roads, not our Australian tarmacs.The vastly improved new Smart fortwo coupe and cabrio arrive in November, to the delight of at least several hundred people.Between then and now, though, comes something altogether more potent.The ML 500 SUV and R 500 MPV cop a 285kW V8, up 60kW on the hardly deficient current version.These should be among us by early October, along with a 320 CDI model of the S-Class, marrying the marque's superb V6 diesel to its luxury limo.BMW fires two shots; one small-calibre, the other medium, from its locker this month.The One Series evokes mixed reactions but a coupe version is due next year and the five-door hatch receives a new four-cylinder diesel engine, minor inside and out facelifts and mechanical upgrades for greater efficiency.The updated Five Series gets new front and rear bumpers, restyled headlights and tail lights with LED.Better yet, it gets a quicker-shifting six-speed automatic tranny, controlled by the electronic gear selector from the X5 off-roader.The 530i Sedan and Touring gain 10kW of power and 15Nm of torque for totals of 200kW and 315Nm, and smarter 0-100km/h times throughout the range.New Seven Series Executive and Sport models arrive next month, but the lip-smacking becomes deafening in the fourth quarter with the new M3 coupe.Forsaking the straight six, this fourth-gen M3 packs an all-new, 309kW/400Nm V8 of four litres.Driven by the rear wheels (of course) through a six-speed-manual, it promises acceleration to 100km/h in only 4.8sec.The M3 is billed as the first production vehicle in its segment to feature a carbon fibre-reinforced roof; an innovation to save weight and lower the centre of gravity.Audi's counter-offensive begins next week with the local release of its S3 hot hatch and a ragtop version of the TT. Expected to outsell its hard-hat cousin, the open TT dispenses with the coupe's comedy back pews, increasing its boot space.Nor does it command an unreasonable premium over the coupe, with the front-drive 2.0 TFSI starting at $77,500, the V6 quattro at $92,900. But the roadster's sole transmission is the manual-matic S-tronic.No such pandering for the S3, which unites a creamy six-speed manual with quattro. And how all-wheel drive is needed.Hosting a rebuilt and “up-gunned” version of the VW Golf GTI's two-litre, direct-injection turbo four, the S3 can call upon a V6-daunting 188kW and 330Nm. At an estimated $65,000, it will come in cheaper than the top-whack, but decidedly lesser, A3.If the S3 is a genuine Q-car (there being little to visually distinguish it from Audi's milder hatches), there's no denying the latest Q7.Due in November and priced from $124,000, the already imposing SUV packs a turbine-like 4.2 TDI, a turbo diesel dreadnought that generates 240kW at 3750rpm and a warping 760Nm between 1800 and 2500rpm.As Wagnerian as it is, its thunder may be stolen as early as October. Not so much by the A5 and S5 (touring coupes with Walter da Silva style and nice engine notes) but the R8 sports car.Though it will be priced in the region of $270,000, you won't be able to buy one for ages, even if you have the readies.Audi has been taking orders for the instantly desirable, mid-engined V8 quattro two-seater since it was unveiled at last year's Sydney Motor Show.That car evokes a profound response from a region lower even than the gut.

Audi expects to sell about 600 models a year in Australia once the full model line-up has arrived by the end of next year. The A5 will become available in October in petrol models, with a 195kW 3.2-litre multitronic version. It's expected to be priced at about $90,000. The sportier S5 model, at $130,000-$135,000 with a 4.2-litre, V8 engine, quattro all-wheel-drive and a manual transmission, will later join the line-up. The range topper generates 260kW at 7000rpm and 440Nm at 3500rpm. Another four versions will be added next year, with a tiptronic 3.2-litre quattro model arriving around March. This is expected to have a $5000 excess over the multitronic version. A tiptronic 4.2-litre S5 will also join the line-up in April. It will be between $134,000-$139,000. And fans of the new coupe who want something more affordable will also have to wait until April, when the 125kW 1.8-litre, turbocharged model arrives. It will be priced at $70,000-$75,000 and is expected to be the volume seller. Diesel fans will also have to wait, with a 3.0-litre turbo diesel expected next August, with both quattro and tiptronic features. It will produce 176kW and 500Nm and will carry a $95,000-$100,000 price point.