Audi celebrated its 100th anniversary last week and marked the momentous occasion with the world debut of the new A5 Sportback, a striking new five-door interpretation of the A5 formula that is a fitting testament to a century of boundary-breaking innovation in the fields of car design and engineering.
The new A5 Sportback subtly blends its additional doors into the sweeping curves that are instantly recognisable hallmarks of the A5 Coupe, and fully justifies their presence through an extended chassis that enables it to run the spacious A4 Saloon close on rear head and leg room. The benefits of the increase in wheelbase length from 2,751mm in the Coupe to 2,810mm are also evident in the load bay, which with a 480 litre capacity when the rear seats are in place comes close to matching the A4 Avant. When luggage takes priority and the rear seat backs are folded down, a total of 980 litres can be freed up.
Four advanced direct injection engines will power the A5 Sportback – the 2.0-litre TFSI with 211PS and the 3.2-litre V6 FSI with 265PS from the petrol family, and from the diesel range the 2.0-litre TDI with 170PS and 3.0-litre V6 TDI with 240PS.
Initially, 2.0 TFSI, 3.2 FSI and 3.0 TDI engines will channel their power via the latest generation, rapid-shifting S tronic twin-clutch transmission to the quattro all-wheel-drive system. A six-speed manual gearbox will be reserved for the front-wheel-driven 2.0 TDI to enable the most economy-focused model in the first launch phase to benefit from the latest start-stop and energy recuperation technology.
Further engine variants and additional quattro models will be phased in during 2009, and the automatic transmission options will also become more widely available.
A5 Sportback marks Audi Centenary – Audi is marking its 100th Anniversary with the launch of the new A5 Sportback, a striking new five-door interpretation of the successful A5 formula.