UPDATED: First Audi A5/S5 Convertible Photos- STUDS or DUDS? Why No Hardtop?

Nice looking, but it should be a hard top
for the kind of money this car is going to cost.

The thing already weighs 3,800+lbs. A hardtop convertible option would push it well over 4klbs. Talk about one slowa** A5. That'd be an absolute embarassment. 0-60 in 7.5 for only $60k+. Audi is pretty slick with it's pricing. But, they ain't that slick.

Sort of like how the M3 convertible is over 4,000 pounds. That ruined it for me.

I'm w/ you sailor, convertibles are for teenage girls and mid-lifers feeling "empty inside". Flame away...

OK looking I guess but...Convertibles are for women and players from the other team. Additionally, hard tops may look nice but are so heavy that the handling and performance of the car is significantly diminished. Just read the car owner message boards to see all the threads that wished their model had a soft top instead of metal.

convertibles are for chicks. period. unless its a miata, then well you get the idea...............

I wish it were a hardtop as well.

looks better than the hardtops

I agree, Chewy. I think the 335i vert looks quirky with the top up. The lines just do not flow right with that hardtop.

I don't think it needs to be a hardtop.
I think all the hardtops on the market have awkward proportions when the top is up, obviously due to the packaging constraints of the hard top mechanism. They all seem to have a truncated roof line and a rear deck that looks too long.

soft top cars with their top have never been a beautiful thing to look at either....and besides it seems Audi is always trying to ignore the market,probably why their sales are still off in the states i will say that car isnt that good looking without its roof, it looks very plain

Hard to say, top isn't up or down...

Soft top.

Period!

shoulda kept the roof on it! save the convertible for the a4

They have that, too. It's called an A5 coupe.

An A4 convertible would be a 4 door if you've been paying attention.

"An A4 convertible would be a 4 door if you've been paying attention."


A4/S4/RS4 cabs have 2 doors...

:facepalm: the A5/S5/RS5 convertible replaces the A4/S4/RS4 convertible... if you've been paying attention...

I am in favor of the ragtop. The A4 cabrio had one of the best-looking tops around-- no skeleton creases from the metal bracing underneath. The A5 top should be just as good.

Also, it may have been near impossible for Audi to come up with a folding hardtop design that would have preserved the A5 coupe's distinct roof line.

AudiNewEngland: You may not realize but the A4/S4/RS4 cabrios you speak of are the old A4 body style. There will be no replacement A4 cabrio moving forward, so the A5 cabrio pictured above is it.

i think it looks good with the soft top. hard top convertibles look weird and like JustaCar said "have awkward proportions when the top is up".

why is it okay for bmw to do a soft top convertible (650i) and as soon as Audi does it, all the bmw fanboys jump at the chance to say something negative? i drive a 650i convertible and i think that this Audi looks equally stunning.

i apologize i forgot no one can dare have a negative opinion about an Audi, god forbid.

bmwdrvr - let's be real for a second, if Audi made the best looking, most powerful greatest handling car ever, bmw fanboys would still have something to say about it.

Whatthe - i drive a 6 and as soon as the lease is up guess what i'm going to get? i love the 6 but around here everyone has one. i've seen about 7 maybe 8 S5/A5's since they came out. every time i see an S5 i think to myself damn i got to have one. just because you don't like it doesn't mean i have to be on the bmw bandwagon like you and others on this site.

I think the soft top fad is just that, a fad. It will go by the wayside unless the manufacturers find a way to make them much lighter and more efficiently stowed.

Soft tops look better when up, far more practicality, faster operation, lighter weight (so better MPG and performance) and they cost less. The only advantage a hard top has is winter usability, IF that's true at all. I don't think it is. I'm driving my S4 this winter. Considering the fact that Audi is the only brand south of Porsche to offer an AWD convertible, I don't think anyone will have winter troubles with this car.

Ahem. The hard top fad.

I tend to agree. The hard top obviously has some advantages.
Durability (theoretically)
Security (Duh)
Aerodynamics

But the cons are
Weight
Complexity
Bulk

I think over time the weight will be the Achilles heal of the design, just as in the 60's

German cars always STUD.

Exactly, just look at the beetle convertible or the Mercedes Smart.

i'd get 335i convertible before i get this, but then again i don't care about awd. if you want awd convertible this is the only game in town (or porsche c4 for twice as much) and i am sure audi knows that.

the car looks nice from all angles with the top down, but to ME the 335i convertible looks nice from all angles with the top up OR down.

Simply, it is an heavy car.
Only by looking at it we can see it has some major weight problem, putting an hard top will make this car a no-fun driving car.

German cars need very big and heavy engines due to their weight... This all thing is heavy and fatty

I dont like it, i want slim chicks and cars :)

I saw this at the press launch (i know...get me)
It is without doubt the best looking cab to be hitting the market. May have had something to do with the 2 models that were all over it.
Hard tops add unecessary weight and slow roof movement. They also cause the designers a headache and therefore have stupid proportions. (peugeot 206cc, 3series con, megane, volvo, ford focus etc).
Acoustic hoods on audis have thermal insulation and mulitple layers so keep the heat in in winter and cool air in in summer, but then you'd have the roof down anyway!
Soft tops all the way

the 335 takes 2 seconds??? wow, dont get your fingers caught!haha

Extreme stud. Looks great, airy and still elegant and dynamic.

ehhhh the A5 is hot but wheres the A7 I think if this car is done correct it will be a tough competitor against the CLS (which is my favorite 4 door coupe next to the concept A7:))....but thats what I am looking for. yeah it will be a Passat CC with Audi badging but it has a much sexier appeal than the passat cc and the A5 put together.....ok ALL THE A5 LOVERS RIDERS CAN RESPOND TO THIS COMMENT NOW. THATS WHAT I THINK AND ALL THE HATE IN THE WORLD WILL NOT CHANGE MY MIND.

this is what Im talking about....

http://www.novoskop.ru/files/u4/audia7.jpg

If they do build A7 it wont be till 2011. A5 cab, A5 Sportback and A4 Allroad due out 2009 along with V10 R8. A1 out in 2010.

p.s A4 allroad looks a mess

the sad part about the A7 is that the ultra expensive Lamborghini estoque will be based on it, a platform that could either be FWD, or AWD.....VW group isnt above platform or parts sharing for anyone, a lamborghini on the new A6/A7 playform thats pretty bad

i understand what you're saying but this article is about the A5/S5.

dont get me wrong the car is hard but i would rather a soft top than a hard top on any convertible any day. it sets the proportioning correctly. all these hard-top cars look like jigsaw puzzles when they are up. the only car that is made with a hard top and is very well proportioned is the mercedes SL.....HANDS DOWN.....its sexy,sporty,and it looks crazy with the top down or up. also the the cadillac xlr looks great also but the company that designed the benz SL hardtop also did the XLR hardtop.....GO FIGURE.

yeah, you do sound like a fanboy but i just want to address the 3 series convertible issue. i love the 3 series coupe but the convertible's rear end looks out of proportion. is it just me?

I wouldn't want to own a hard top convertible. They're uglier, heavier and less space-efficient. They both have disadvantages and IMO there are more disadvantages in a hard top. I've never minded how soft top convertibles look--it's classic, been around forever.

"Yet, this car weighs about the same as a 335 conv..."

Duh, that's because it's AWD. Imagine if it had a hard top.

As for the salt issue, I guess you live in a bit of a different situation than me. Winters here are pretty intense and the roads are constantly salted, but I've had the S4 for more than three and a half years without "changing" the roof and it's perfectly intact.

I think it's time we agreed to disagree. I still think hard tops are fugly. The only car that looks good with a hard top is the Mercedes SL.

TOTAL stud, particularly the S5. Wouldn't be able to buy the A5 cab with the S5 sitting next to it looking so nice. Hard tops are stupid - more weight in the worst possible place, added complexity, renders trunk useless, looks silly when up with all its folds and creases, and even leaks (in the case of the 335). give me the S5 with s-tronic and quattro any day over the 335 cab.

Although a soft top will save weight there is no excuse for Audi not to offer a hard top for a 45K+ car. If Audi truly wishes to shed its image as a dressed up VW, they need to step up to plate and offer a hard top. I was actually considering buying a A5 convertible as my next car but I will now look else where.

would you say this about the bmw 6 series? i doubt it. i think it has a certain elegance to it (and i do mean the soft top on both the 6 series and the S5/A5).

I hope the 20" wheel option comes to the US, the blue convertible is quite the stud

I dont like the way the rear of this car looks at all. boring.

hardtop rivals from BMW, Infiniti and Lexus look much better. This looks like a jumbo A3 cabriolet(soft top and the rear of both cars is 90% identical).

JUGNU

Sorry, but the G37 vert and IS250 CC (barf!) look awful compared to the A5 Cab. The only one that can hold a candle in terms of looks is the C70, but it's too feminine. The 335i is nice with the top down but the hard top ruins the lines.

convertibles from Lexus??? You mean the "Slug Car" ... the ugliest convertible offered in decades? They couldn't kill off the SC soon enough. What were they thinking? "Jaba the Hut" on wheels..... Lexus' biggest mistake (after the LS460h ... the first V8 car with v6 performance, but V-10 fuel-consumption ... what an embarrassment!

Definitely a Stud, this baby is a Stunner for sure....

Looks nice, but does need the hardtop though.

as an owner of a soft top, it is fine, i have no need to lose valuable trunk space for a hard top that cant even get one set of golf clubs in it, let alone two sets, anyone seen the new 3 series convert, no trunk space at all...

i hat soft tops but i think its awesome but the speed is not so good the interior is the best thing about the car apart from the looks y the way bocabimmer soft tops r bad so the hard tops use hardly any space and the egine is at the front 4 most sport cars

I like it! 7/10 in looks alone. Might I be looking at my next car? I don't care about rag-top vs foldable hard-top. Whatever doesn't leak, and takes up the least trunk space, is my preference. I currently drive a BMW 328ic, which I love, but BMW's current styling is not my cup of tea.

I think you are comparing this new AUDI to the wrong type of BMW : it looks more like the competitor of the actual BMW 6-SERIES (of which I own one)than the 3-series.. When my soft top comes down (allowing the seldom seen Belgian sun to shine upon my lost hair and reflecting on my wedding band !) I can ALMOST live with the idea that I am NOT riding my much preferred motorcycle...
There is no denying that a soft top is noisier than a metal one (a friend of mine drives a new BMW 330d)AND prettier at the same time. Solution : accept the fact that, if you want to turn your convertible into an oldtimer, you'll have to cough up for a replacement ragtop after some years... it goes with the territory.

Nice. Looks like Audi is coming out with the Mid-Life crisis editions...