Flat bottom steering wheel is an optional extra on the B9 models.Why no flat bottom steering wheel in that promo video?
Shows flat bottom on video from the carshow. Maybe that snapshot in this video was from an S-Line A4?
But not on my B8.5 S4 Black EditionFlat bottom steering wheel was an optional extra on my B8.5 S4 as well.
Had an email last week from the sales chap, I'm trying to get more info from himn regarding release dates and prices but not got back to me yet but going to be getting my name down for a test drive once they get a demo
I've seen grumblings on some forums regarding the switch from s-tronic to tip-tronic but i've used the trip-tronic in a 2.0 A4 and found it better than the s-tronic in my S4. The gear changes seem more crisp and quicker.
Yes, Audi have made a claim that certain B9s including the S4 will get the 8-speed tip due to increased torque. From the brochure: "For engines with torque higher than 400 Nm, Tiptronic enhances the quattro experience with improved traction and driving dynamics. The gear-shifts between the eight speeds are achieved smoothly, quickly and are always appropriate for the current driving situation." However that is not a reason, just a statement. As we know the 3.0 TDI Quattro engine which is fitted in many models develops a peak torque of 580Nm and is often mated to the 7-speed S-tronic gearbox. And there are cars in the Audi range which are fitted with the 8-speed tiptronic gearbox whilst having engines with peak torque well below 400Nm. So any decision Audi made to use the tiptronic gearbox for the B9 S4/S5 clearly is NOT because the S-tronic box cannot handle the OEM torque. Whether or not it is because they know that owners will tune their engines to well over 600Nm, or that they expect owners to use launch control a lot and the S-tronic suffers from that or merely that they had a lot of warranty (and non-warranty) claims for S-tronic gearbox problems in early S4s and S5s, no-one except Audi can say. On a conceptual level I prefer the idea of a dual clutch gearbox to a torque convertor, but have to reserve my judgement until I get a test drive.however reading further into the switch to tip-tronic is mainly down to the new S4 producing more torque which would explain why higher end models like the RS6 are using tip-tronic and also to compete with other models using a ZF box like the Jaguar XE S and BMW
Turbo technology has only managed to slightly reduce lag and/or increase efficiency and only for certain engine configurations. That is exactly why Audi are developing their electric compressor technology as an addition to the highest performance turbo engines. I can't see that a single twin-scroll turbo on a V6 is much better than two single-scroll turbos. And a hot-V might reduce the path for exhaust gasses but it increases the intake path so again I don't believe that any lag reduction will be significant. I will accept that the B9 S4 might have less lag than a B5 RS4, but I'm sorry, I am nowhere near believing "you will probably never notice any lag", and certainly not when comparing to our supercharged enginesTurbo technology has come a long way over the years and I'm sure the new S4 will be tuned as such that you will probably never notice any lag
^ ThisI just wish they wasn't ditching the supercharger :-(