Monday, December 21, 2009

2010 Audi S5 quattro Cabriolet

2010 Audi S5 Quattro Cabriolet Front Three Quarters Static Driver

If any engine puts the final nail into the coffin of the mainstream V-8, it's the new 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 in Audi's 2010 S5 Cabriolet and S4 sedan. Rated 333 horsepower and 325 pound-feet, it's 20 horses shy of the 4.2-liter V-8's power number and its match on twist. We got a quick sampling of the new engine in the cloth-lid S5.

Our testing reveals the S5 ragtop is just half a second slower -- or less quick -- from 0-60 mph than the V-8 Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG and V-8 S5 coupe. In the quarter mile, it's 0.8 second slower than the Benz, 0.5 slower than the S5 hardtop. The Cabriolet's new engine seems poised for the new CAFE order, with 17/26 mpg EPA numbers, versus 16/24 for the S5 V-8 coupe with the S tronic and 14/22 for the manual coupe. (The S4 sedan with the supercharged 3.0 gets 18/27 mpg with the manual; 18/28 with S tronic.) Engine downsizing, even among expensive German performance cars, is the Next Big Thing, and Audi has trumped BMW, which is going back to a six-cylinder engine for the next M3.

The 3.0 TFSI features gas direct injection and the intercooled supercharger -- "T" typically means "turbocharged" in VW and Audi engines, but apparently SFSI doesn't seem sporty enough. While its sound is distinctively blown-V-6, Audi has tuned it to sound the part of a V-8 killer, but with a higher pitch. The brappy soundtrack is accentuated by back-pressure burbles during upshifts of the seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission, when you get aggressive with the throttle.



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