Next gen Audi A4/A5 to go on a major diet and get smaller engines
The cars built off of Audi's "B8" platform, including the A4 sedan, A5 coupe and their derivatives, have much to recommend them. Light weight is not among those characteristics. The lowest mass four cylinder front wheel drive A4 sedan weighs in at nearly 3,600 pounds and the V8-powered AWD S5 runs nearly 4,100 pounds. For mid-sized cars of very reasonable dimensions, these are prodigious numbers. Of course, modern safety regulations feed into this as does the continuing proliferation of feature content.
Audi is aware of the problem and is actively working to address it in its next generation of cars. Global product engineering boss Michael Dick talked to Car and Driver in Geneva last week and explained that lighter weight materials would be accompanying downsized powertrains in the next round of models. According to Dick, an early prototype of the next S5 is currently running 880 pounds lighter than the current model (pictured above). The next A6 chassis in 2011 is expected to top the 69 percent aluminum content of the current TT and A4/A5 will have more than that. The new 3.0L supercharged V6 that is going into the S4 that is launching this year will be replaced by an even smaller turbocharged four cylinder unit
[Source: Car and Driver]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ben 3:19PM (3/15/2009)
Lighter is always better, as long as the structure doesn't lose rigidity or that "solid" well-constructed feel.
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Hank 7:57PM (3/15/2009)
"For mid-sized cars of very reasonable dimensions, these are prodigious numbers."
And the A4 didn't even used to be "mid-size" but has been victim of the same ever-enlarging model growth process that has the Civic now larger than older Accords, and Accords the size of an 80s LTD.
Good for Audi deciding to reign things in a bit. The A4 now is what an A6 used to be.
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DasBoese 10:12PM (3/15/2009)
Weight reduction is always good, but keep in mind that increased aluminium use has an environmental impact too.
I'm not judging Audi here, just saying that steel has a lot of weight reduction potential too, just replacing steel with aluminium is lazy engineering.
In any case, the biggest potential for weight reduction of automobiles lies in moving away from traditional metal unibody construction and towards increased use of plastics and composites, at least for non load-bearing structures. Smart use of these can even reduce costs.
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Nick 2:12AM (3/16/2009)
4100 pounds for an S5 ??? That's enormous! I am dsapointed by Audi.
Hank is right, cars become ridiculously large....a new Corolla is the same size as a family car 20 years ago. Our A6 is now so large that the next one will have to be an A4, or else it won't fit in our garage. When will a car maker make a car that's smaller than its predecessor? That would be a real step forward.
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Rick 3:29PM (3/16/2009)
You can't compare an Audi to a Honda or other non luxury car in terms of weight. Audi's are solid, solid, solid cars and they pay for it in wight. Tap a body panel on an Audi then tap an Accord fender and you'll clearly hear the difference. Is it necessary? Not sure, just saying it's better built and that comes at a cost.
And the A4 is not large it's barely a mid-sized sedan. My kids are going to need more room from the back seat as they grow. Although the 2009 model did get more room inside the cabin, I'd love to have an A6.
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