Audi A5 and S5 – new coupé with athletic elegance

Elegant and athletic 2-door car

Showcasing an elegant and athletic 2-door car, Audi designers have revamped the appearance of the Audi A5 coupé.  The first and original Audi A5 coupé was the first Audi to bear this name, and after an entire decade, the new car is being shown.

The wide single-frame grille, matrix LED headlights, long bonnet, low roof, wave-like sides (a re-interpretation of the original A5 coupé’s style mark) and short rear-end create a fresh and sophisticated coupé look.  The exterior mirrors are placed on the door-top shoulders, like a sports car (indeed, like on the Audi TT) – one more indicator of the sporty nature of the new A5 Coupé.

The new car, it is claimed, takes top position in terms of aerodynamics and aero-acoustics in the mid-size premium coupé market, where it faces competition against BMW 4 Series coupé, Mercedes C/E-Class coupés, Infiniti Q60 coupé and Lexus RC coupé.

Drivetrains

Engineers have boosted the performance of the new petrol-turbo and diesel-turbo engines by 17 percent, while improving fuel economy by almost 25%.  Drivetrain options are 6-speed manual or, leaving the selection of gears to the car, a choice of swift 7-speed dual clutch DSG or 8-speed torque-converter automatic (model dependent) in new A5.  Front- or all-wheel-drive quattro remain the choices.

The German market will launch A5 coupé with 2 x TFSI and 3 x TDI engine types, from 140 to 210kW.  Rather than a phased introduction, the new Audi S5 is also being shown – it gets a turbocharged V6 engine good for 260kW plus 500 Newton metres, sending the speedometer around to 100km/h in 4.7 sec.  A red rhombus S5 logo is attached to the side, grille and rear.

LTE online and other top tech

The new Audi A5 coupé and Audi S5 coupé will – in keeping with Audi’s Vorsprung durch Technik – will have some top tech, like LTE online on-board internet to relay information on anything from interesting locations to and syncing calendar from your connected smartphone to the car.

Drivers can use an app to lock and unlock the A5, and locate where it is parked.

A long list of assistance systems includes semi-automated mode which helps avoid collisions and even helps evade obstacles.  The ultra-modern all-digital Audi Virtual Cockpit instrument cluster/screen is available on the new A5.

The new cars are destined for SA, which should arrive here in 2017.