New Audi S4 revealed
* New supercharged 3.0-litre engine * Dramatic styling * Saloon and Avant...
These are the first pictures of the Audi S4, which will go on sale from March 2009.
New engine
Both the saloon and Avant estate models are powered by a new supercharged 328bhp 3.0-litre petrol engine with 325lbft of pulling power. That contrasts with the old model's 4.2-litre V8, which produced only marginally more power.
It accelerates the saloon from 0-62mph in 5.1secs, with the Avant taking just 0.1secs longer. Both cars have electronically limited top speeds of 155mph.
The saloon averages 29.1mph, while the Avant manages 28.5mpg that's 26% more than the outgoing S4 models.
The car will be sold with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, but this can be upgraded to a seven-speed semi-automatic unit, which Audi calls S tronic.
Styling
The Audi S4 features new aprons, aluminium-look wing mirrors, 18-inch alloys, a rear spoiler and quadruple exhaust as standard.
Inside, there are sports seats, grey dials with white needles on the instrument panel, and a sports steering wheel. The interior is black with aluminium alloys, although buyers can opt for carbon, stainless steel or wood inlays instead.
Options
Options include a new sports differential, which helps control oversteer and understeer while applying power to the correct wheels for maximum acceleration.
On cars fitted with Audi's Drive Select system, the driver can also alter the throttle response, gearchange characteristics and steering feel between comfort, normal and dynamic settings.
Buyers can also buy Audi's MMI system, which features adaptive shock absorbers and allows the driver to programme their own throttle, gearchange and steering settings.
Dynamic steering is also available, which adjusts the weight of the steering wheel according to the car's speed so that the Audi S4 remains controllable even on the limit.
