SPY SHOT: New view of the upcoming Audi A5 coupe

those Audi interiors. There is just so much substance in there. Serious............

Why so much bulk at the rear.Something like the BMW 6 series and A6.Liked the front but needs to be more aggressive with some styling changes in the headlights and bumpers.

Overall looks good,but i heared from a source saying, new A5 will be the bigger sister of the new TT.So it will be a big TT.
I think this time when Audi is really making a real 2D Coupe,Audi's engineers should give their all,their best,while making it.

Best whishes for Audi.

JUGNU----->THE CARMAN

Why so much bulk at the rear.Something like the BMW 6 series and A6.Liked the front but needs to be more aggressive with some styling changes in the headlights and bumpers.

Overall looks good,but i heared from a source saying, new A5 will be the bigger sister of the new TT.So it will be a big TT.
I think this time when Audi is really making a real 2D Coupe,Audi's engineers should give their all,their best,while making it.

Best whishes for Audi.

JUGNU----->THE CARMAN

As an audi owner I'm not sure if I truely love this design. There's something about it from the door back that turns me off.

I think this Audi will be a real head turner. This Photoshop rendering already looks 100 times better than BMWs new 3 Series coupe which to me is plain. NOW if only Audi can make it handle like a BMW would it be a real treat.... I wish Audi (VW) would go out on a limb and make something rear wheel drive matted to a Quattro.... Anyhow I can't wait to see the real deal here.

That doesnt look great because its over a year old....+ if u want there are web sites which have collected this kind of crappy shops ever since they were made, and I hate coming to autospies seeing a title SPY SHOT: Audi A5 coupe, and then I see a year old shop of an A6, and people saying "i hate audis", "they have plain interiors"... buy a peugeot 1007!!

This started out as a press release photo of the then newly released A6 S-line appearance package. The A5 will not be this large. It will be based on the upcoming A4 platform which will be longer and wider than the current A4 but not as large as the A6. One of the most notable things about the new A5 coupe will be the position of the front axle. It will be pushed much farther forward than what we currently see in all of the current models. Not only does that give it a decidedly short front overhang but suggests a serious departure from the current Audi automotive architecture. In the longitudinal mounted powertrain platforms, the torsen diff is located in the transmission which forces the engine way forward of the front axle. If the axle is going to be in front of the engine, as has been hinted by Audi, then the location of the AWD system has to be different. I'm suprised there have not been more blogs speculating about this subject.

The new A4 platform is also going to be the first in a series of expandable/flexible platforms which will form the bases of the future A4, A6 and all of the derivatives. This is all a cost cutting measure to make the cars cheaper to produce. The point being; if the A5 is going to be built this way, then all of Audi's other products will follow suit eventually.

This will completely change the balance of the cars and should eliminate the front heavy issues that plague the cars of today.

Firstly I seriously cannot understand where u guys pick that "rebadged VW" stuff, but say that in Europe and u might just lose ur teeth.

Secondly a RWD car is EASIER to make than FwD, because u dont have to condense everything to the front axle.

Third, Audi can corner way better than u would dare to do--- believe me

And another thing about everyday cars is that with RWD u cannot go anywhere when there is snow, and u become scared in the bends....

Last hing about audis weight and power distribution is this.... they dont just make something and then find out the outcome, but plan for it and make it like they want!!!

ugly, ugly, ugly. Thats all you could say about it.

I just looked up the nuvolari concept, it is still ugly and looks sort of the same. The m5 and m6 are not even in the same competition as the rs4.

Once again you are showing these bs stats. Accept the fact that the rs4 is a 4.8 second car.

I would sure like to have some of whatever you're on, otherwise you sound like a 12 year old. None of your arguments are accurate. You obviously have never owned an Audi or know anything about them other than what you read in car magazines. Even then you seem to only pick and choose what you want to beleive and ignore the rest of the facts.

Here is a fact for all of you BMW and VW fans out there to absorb. When you open the hood of a VW or an Audi, and the engine sits in the bay transverse, it's a VW platform. If the engine is mounted longitudinally, it's an Audi platform. Its that simple folks. If your looking at the previous generation Passat, guess what? Yeah, thats right, its an Audi A4 platform, a B4 to be exact.

If you open the hood of an A3 what do you see? Yup, a Mk5 Golf platform. By the way, that new Mk5 platform serves as the basis of some 25+ cars sold throughout the world, not just VW or Audi. Ever heard of SEAT or Skoda? Probably not since you can't get to Europe by bicycle.

The statement made about the 60/40 torque split bias is grossly inaccurate. The normal torque split with no traction loss is 60% rear and 40% front in an RS4. If the car is a "torsen" diff car (do you know what that means?) and the car has a manual transmission as the RS4 does, the torque split varies. An RS4 can send up to 100% of the engine's power to the front or REAR axle depending on which end has traction. The rest of the manual transmission line up can send only 75% front or rear. Automatic transmission cars can send as much a 66% front or rear. They all can also shift that power side to side if neccessary.

If the car is a VW platform and it uses a Haldex electronic diff., the car remains 100% FWD until the front tires lose traction, then only 50% of the engine power can be sent to the rear wheels.

The reason Audi can send so much power to a front axle is because the half shafts are of equal length thus eliminating most of the torque steer sensation you would get by doing this. Subaru also uses this sort of symetrical AWD system with much success as well.

The reason BMW and MB limit the amount of torque sent to the front wheels on their AWD systems is because the half shafts are more like 60/40 shafts. The power goes from the transfer case back up to the front axle along side of the engine oil pan to the front axle diff. One shaft (the 60) then passes through the oil pan to the left wheel and a shorter (40) shaft sends power to the right. They can not send any more than 30% max engine power to the front axle or else serious torque steer will occur. Add to that, both systems are reactionary, meaning nothing happens until sensors detect a loss of traction in the rear axle. Then and only then does 30% of the engine's power get redistributed forward.

The "torsen" Audis use a myriad of sensors to detect whether the car is under heavy acceleration, braking, or in a tight corner, and will actually "anticipate" where traction might be. If you stand on the gas for example, the car knows the weight transfer is going to the rear, the car knows that the rear axle is going to have the most traction thus engine power is automatically distributed there without delay. It does NOT wait for the front tires to loose traction before doing so. If the rear tires loose traction, then the power is then redistributed again, balancing carefully to avoid having to use ESP to control it.

An RS4 does not weigh 4000lbs. It's not exactly light but tips the scales at between 3600 and 3700 lbs.

The official manufacturer published 0-60 time for an RS4 is 4.8 seconds. Audi feels this is a safe number to publish in case some American lawyer out there tries to make them buy back a car for not making the published time. There always may be faster examples built but never slower ones. Acceleration times can vary greatly in magazine publications due to temperature, altitude above sea level, humidity levels, etc. If the tests are done at a drag strip, then there could be a lot of rubber already laid down at the starting line, but if it rained the night before, there might not be as much. If a test is performed on a public road, then even more variables can exist.

Bottom line; In the blog I wrote earlier, I'm surprised that there hasn't been more speculation about the new A5's powertrain configuration. Like I said, if the front axle is moved forward, as has been hinted by several EU publications, this might suggest an all new AWD system configured much like BMW or MB. It would definately move the engine rearward to allow for better weight balance. Could this be the end of the symetrical AWD system as we know it? Will torque distribution be limited as in a BMW or MB? Will it still be "torsen" based or use a transfer case? These are all questions we should be asking.

You said: "Audi can only muster 60/40 with the newer cars and with a 60% weight bias on the front wheels and one generation old weight saving technology (new RS$ is 4000lbs!!)"

That is a totally ignorant response. If you had ANY clue, a simple gear change in the Torsen differrential changes the bias. It can be up to 90% any either direction. Audi chooses NOT to change it to what you think. Maybe they know better than you.

The RS4 does 0-60 in 4.8 seconds. Those magazines do 0-60 test at the end of the test so the cars have barely any gas left in the tank. Audi has professional drivers test their cars and try to achieve the best possible times for their cars. Those R&T stats that you posted are bs. If R&T says the 0-60 is 4.3 seconds and Audi says 4.8 seconds, dont you think the times would be closer. I dont think Audi would be .5 seconds off when its their car. R&T overrates almost every car that they test. I dont dislike the magazine, i have a subscription, im just saying that they have overrated statistics.

I never said that BMW's awd system was better than Audi's. I actually think that Audi has a better awd system. Why cant you just admit that you are wrong. Everytime you post these stats, you get a bunch of people including me that tell you that it is 4.8 seconds. Just get off of it already.

I am not a bmw fan, but this audi interior is mostly plastic and is very plain. Now are you happy that someone said this audi interior sucks?

No my friend YOU are amazing. You find proof on your standpoin, (other than the BMWCCA website) where the Audis are not shown as competitive. You obviously are stuck in the 80's. I have not seen one favorable X-Drive comparison to the quattro. If they are out there, then post a URL you will find it tough going I bet. It is BMW's Gen 1 attempt on a mass produced sedan and it remains a Gen 1 attempt, about 80% there. While it is better than nothing is is not as polished as the Quattro. Maybe that 25 year headstart accounts for something after all.

All im sayin in my own opinion it is very plain, and others probably say the same thing that I do. I dont really care what these magazines say, but I could see you do. If a magazine said this interior sucks you would probably agree with them and change your arguement to audi interiors arent nice and are very plain interiors. So face the fact that not everybody likes all the audi interiors like you.

I dont care if bmw has shitty driving dynamics I dont like bmw. So you are just hurting bmw fans feelings. I dont like any german cars except for some porsches.

BMW is better than Audi. Audi interiors are cheap and plasticky except for the A8. BMW is good except for iDrive and the current 5-Series is quite possibly the ugliest german luxury car. But the fact is that Audi blows dogs for quarters when it comes to interiors, exteriors, engines, electronics, so pretty much everything.

I also hate mercedes-benz. I think maybe 2 have a nice interior, and I think the rest of them are very shitty interiors

Enzo, critic, and zoom air vick are all right. Audi's interiors have a lot of plastic in their interiors. Ive driven the A8 W12 and I was very disappointed with the interior and i also noticed that the outside door handles are made of plastic. I also thought that a german manufacturer like Audi would be capable of making an actual V12, not two of their their V6s put together. BMW does.

When I was in the market for a high-performance sedan, I test drove an S4 but I found that it wasnt as fun to drive as a BMW M3 and a Cadillac CTS-V. I did like the fact that it was four wheel drive though. I dont hate Audis, i just dont think that they should be credited with having the best interiors. I think that they are overrated, but BMWs are overrated too. Look at the new M5 for instance, i do not like the exterior or interior design, the only good thing about the new M5 is the powerful V10 engine. Everyone thinks that BMW is the best handling performance sedan and they wont say that the E55, STS-V, or even the S6 with the Lamborghini V10 is better.

So I ASS_U_ME you chose the Cadillac over the BMW and the Audi? Hmm my door handles are metal, but you thought they were plastic? From your review it appears pretty obvious you never drove the BMW or the Audi, maybe kick a tire but that was it.

The W12 solves a packaging issue of length the V12 of BMW does not address, hence the design.

You are entitled to your opinion though, and no car is for everyone. But a close look at any of these designs will show the strong points.

Audi is for sure interiors, BMW is dynamics, Caddy may be the AARP discount. I never have driven one but the reviews for it generally are pretty good.

No I chose the best car and guess what it was. You probably wouldn't guess it but yeah it was the Cadillac. Maybe the door handles are metal but they sure felt like plastic to me. You say that it is obvious that i never drove the Audi or the BMW, what a joke, if you knew what kind of cars i have and the kind of cars that i have driven from friends and family and the cars that i have test dirven when i am in the market for a new car which is almost all the time, then you would change your mind real fast. Are you bullshittin me when you told me you own an A8 W12 or were you telling the truth?