We all know Audi has become a household name when it comes to design (both exterior and interior), performance, all-wheel drive systems, and many other car design areas in the luxury market. However, Audi has always created heavier cars than its competition partly due to the added weight of its Quattro All-Wheel Drive system and massive amounts of luxury.
Audi has now embarked on a weight-reducing strategy propelled by extensive use of aluminum panels, smaller engines, smaller brakes and increased fuel efficiency.
Autocar got their hands on a prototype lightweight A5 and thought the car had a very large improvement in terms of handling, and even had a bit of a nimble hot-hatch feel to it whereas the regular A5 V6 model had the usual GT feel and slight ponderousness to it.
So, will this reduced-weight strategy be the right path forward for Audi, or does Audi risk alienating its customers who prefer the larger engines, luxury solidity, and appreciate the GT nature of Audi's mainstream models.
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