2008 Audi S5: Through Ian's Lens

Like its big, bulky cousin, the Audi Q7, the S5 is first recognizable by its beast-like headlights and grille. The four rings of the Audi badge shine through the small chrome crossbars, and a tiny S5 badge sits snugly in the lower left corner, making people “in the know” aware that you’re driving a high-performance machine. The design team at Audi loves to play off the dichotomy of the curves in the logo and the vertical and horizontal straights of the grille and bumper. Small LED strips accent the main headlight housing like eyelashes and stay engaged as bright daytime runners. The rest of the car is designed with subtle lines that are smooth but fairly anonymous. I think the design mash-up of both European and Japanese exteriors is what I like most about the S5. It could fly by you on the road, and if you weren’t paying attention, you wouldn’t know what kind of car had just burned you.

Audi Announces A5, S5 Prices, Availability

Audi’s all-new A5 and S5 coupes have a price, but they won’t arrive at U.S. dealerships anytime soon. Manual S5s will show up in November, but Audi fans hoping for any other model under the Christmas tree will be a bit bummed out. All A5 models and S5s with the Tiptronic automatic transmission won’t be available until the spring of 2008. That makes their pricing announcement a bitter pill to swallow.

The A5 will start at $39,900 and the S5 will start at $50,900, both with manual transmissions. Destination is another $750, and automatics will cost an additional $1,300. In comparison, the BMW 335i coupe starts at $40,800, but we’ve heard from some buyers that those 335is are hard to find anywhere near that price — or at all. Perhaps Audi is wise to get people in the mode of ordering a new A5 or S5 now.

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2007 Geneva Motor Show: Audi S5 Photo Gallery (KickingTires)
2007 Geneva Motor Show: Audi A5 Photo Gallery (KickingTires)

Audi Diesels: No V-12, but V-6 Could Show Up Elsewhere

Diesel fans, time to start saving up. Audi could unleash its latest diesel V-6 on future versions of the A4 and A6 sedans, among others. Asked Saturday at a racing event in Elkhart Lake, Wis., about the production likelihood of a V-12 TDI, spokesman Chris Bokich instead pointed toward Audi’s smaller TDI V-6, which held “possibilities” for usage in the A4, A5 and A6. We would have liked to have seen the V-12 — it made a Herculean 738 pounds-feet of torque in a Q7 concept last winter — but the V-6 will have to do.

The engine makes its official U.S. debut in the 2008 Q7 TDI. It cranks out an unexceptional 233 hp and, more importantly, 369 pounds-feet of torque, the long overlooked performance statistic. That’s a healthy figure for a 5,300-pound SUV. How it will transform a 3,500-pound sedan like the A4 is anyone’s guess. Compare for yourself: The A4’s turbo four-cylinder makes 207 pounds-feet of torque; the optional V-6 makes 243.

The official word from Audi is mum. Spokesman Andrew Lipman says Audi will test the market for a diesel in the Q7 and “make a determination about putting it in other models.” But considering diesel engines’ pulling power and efficiency – mileage can be 30 percent better than regular gas, and thanks to modern exhaust treatment, sooty particulates are a thing of the past — we like the chances.

2007 Geneva Motor Show: Audi A5 Photo Gallery

We brought you early word on Audi’s all-new sport coupe last week, and today the world gets to see it in person. There’s nothing new to report about the 265-hp coupe, besides a slew of new photos in the gallery below. Interested shoppers will have to satisfy themselves with the eye-only-candy until the A5 goes on sale in the U.S. in November.

Cars.com’s Full Report on the Audi A5

Audi A5 Coupe World Debut

Automotive journalists knew this all-new two-door coupe was coming from Audi, but it will probably come as a complete surprise to most car shoppers. The A5 — debuting at the Geneva Motor Show — is based on an all-new car platform that will serve as the basis for the next A4 sedan. The A5’s size is similar to the current A4, and it will compete with the BMW 3 Series coupe.

The design follows much of what we’ve seen from Audi lately, with its big-mouth-bass grille, but the curvy line down the side and two-door body style is unique to the A5. Audi decided against calling the new model an A4 coupe, which may confuse some shoppers.

Powering the A5 in Europe will be two gasoline engines, a 265-hp, 3.2-liter V-6 and a 170-hp, 1.8-liter four-cylinder turbo. The V-6 sees a 10-hp increase over the power plant in the current A4, while the four-cylinder is actually a smaller engine than what’s in the current base A4. Audi has confirmed that the U.S. will only get the larger V-6, first with a manual transmission, then later with an automatic. There are also two diesel power plants in Europe, but they’re not going to be brought to the U.S. The A5 we’ll get here goes on sale in November.

We’re not sure how well the A5 will be received in the states, but the A4 has held up well and this new platform should be a significant improvement. Either way, it gives us a glimpse of the future of Audi’s most popular model. We have a full photo gallery below.