Tuesday 6th September 2005

Audi A4 goes soft-top

Cab version arrives at Frankfurt show next week

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Audi A4 Cab for 2006

Audi is to unveil its new A4 Cabriolet in Frankfurt next week. It'll be available in the UK in the first quarter of 2006.

It's almost unchanged from the hard-top apart from a tweak of the rear lights and bumper, and new alloy wheels.

Under the skin, the A4 soft-top gets Audi's well-known four-cylinder turbo petrol 2.0T FSI, the 3.0 V6 TDI, and the more interesting 3.2-litre narrow-angle V6 FSI with 252bhp. The entry-level 162bhp 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol completes the line-up.

The four engines deliver their power either via four-wheel-drive or through the front wheels via either five- or six-speed manual gearboxes, the continuously variable multitronic, which has seven speeds in manual mode, and the six-speed tiptronic automatic transmission.

Chassis

Audi has tweaked the car's suspension with new shock absorbers, mountings, trapezoidal links and track rods from the A6 and the S4 quattro, all with the aim of improving handling and comfort, it says here. There's also a rework of the steering configuration "to give the driver greater precision, and better feedback from the road when cruising". You can have the option of speed-sensitive power steering too, while most variants get bigger brakes.

The hood is electro-hydraulically operated with a heated glass rear window as standard. There's an optional acoustic hood too to reduce road noise.

Inside, there are the usual toys, electric everything, along with ESP and hydraulic fading compensation for the brake system, hydraulic brake assist and a wet-weather disc wiping function.

No prices announced as yet.

[targarama]

zzzzzz

Shouldn't the headline be 'Audi Revises A4 softop' or something similar?

[Merefield]

targarama said:

zzzzzz Shouldn't the headline be 'Audi Revises A4 softop' or something similar?

Nope, should be

'Audi ensures the soft top version of the A4 becomes as butt ugly as its revised fixed roof brother'

>> Edited by Merefield on Tuesday 6th September 17:20

[targarama]

Do you mean its got an ugly butt or its completely ugly? I do agree that the big Audi grille looks its worst on the A4 and those new rear lights are rather bland. The version just superceded looked quite nice though.

I've gone off all new Audis bar the A3 - far too bland looking. Audi have moved into the space BMW left went it went all Bangley.

[baz1985]

An E46 vert will still kick its ass in the handling and fun stakes

[LayZ]

Whoever photoshopped that needs a prison sentance.