The Word from On High: "No Audi R4 for you!"
For almost a year, we've been hearing rumors from a variety of sources that Audi planned to build a mid-engine sports car that would utilize the Porsche Boxster's underpinnings after the Stuttgart crew takes a majority stake in Audi's parent company, Volkswagen. By most accounts, including a leaked product outline, the so-called Audi R4 was on its way to production by 2010. But according to Automotive News, the plans have been dashed due to Porsche executives who worry that the R4 could steal sales away from their beloved Boxster.
AN quotes an Audi spokesperson as saying that, "It was never in our product planning." While some industry insiders maintain that it's best to keep the VW/Porsche alliance separate, Nick Margetts, from the automotive analysis firm JATO Dynamics, maintains that the R4 never would have threatened Boxster sales. Margetts says that, "Audi drivers are very different from Porsche drivers," and we tend to agree.
[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
RG 7:45AM (3/31/2008)
Hey Porsche might be right, but they might be crazy.
The truth is that Porsche has a majority stake in VW/Audi, so they can make these decisions and back them up. I personally think Porsche is justified and that an R4 powered the way Audi (and the public) would want it to be powered would be all over the Boxter's territory.
There is already enough cannibalism in the VW/Audi/Porsche lineup, there is no need to introduce any more.
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DomManganelli 8:02AM (3/31/2008)
i gotta agree that it doesn't make any sense to make an r4. i mean it could fit between say the boxster/cayman and the tt, but is it worth it?
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Ranger 8:30AM (3/31/2008)
I do think that "Audi drivers are very different from Porsche drivers," but where was that logic for the R8? I mean, that competes with the 911, doesn't it?
Although I do understand that the R8 was made to be the "flagship" and Audi needed one of those.
Not that I think the R4 should exist anyway.
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smarkle 8:57AM (3/31/2008)
As an Audi fan I love the idea of the R4 (the renderings look tasty) -- but I'm not really sure there's room between the TT and the A5 for something like that... After all doesn't the TT already compete with the Boxster (especially the TT-S)? It may not be mid-engined -- but it does offer similar power in a 2-seat roadster. Before everyone jumps all over me, let me say that I recognize that the Boxster is something very different than the TT... But if I was in the market for 2-seat roadsters I would certainly consider them in the same pool (along with the Z4). And frankly I'd probably end up with the TT because it uses less gas (gotta love that turbo 4 -- until I can get my hands on a TDI) and costs far less to maintain.
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JMoss 11:29AM (3/31/2008)
I agree with you...unless Audi plans to make the R4 a successor of the TT
dan.sarkar 11:23AM (3/31/2008)
This saddens me terribly.
I really had my heart set on getting an R4.
The while Porsche line up does absolutely NOTHING for me, and the TT still makes me go "Meh"
I love our A3, and I looked forward to the prospect of a sleek 2 door coupe powered with the same motor for me.
Oh well...in the words of Westley from the Princess Bride: "Get used to disappointment"
But hey.......2010 is still a ways off, things might change by then.
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Toy Yoda 11:42AM (3/31/2008)
Can't remember, is the Porsche Boxster AWD? Perhaps they can differentiate on that alone.
Porsche may have stopped Audi due to cannibalizing sales threat, but I just don't think that's a good idea. Nor do I buy think cannibalizing sales is a reason to stop going forward with a good idea.
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macdoc 11:47AM (3/31/2008)
I bought a 08 TT 3.2 6spd S-line loaded over a Cayman S why? I couldn't even get Sirius in the Cayman!! or BlueTooth or iPod and the TT 3.2 has Quattro.
The Cayman beside having fiber-optic electric Nav sys, stereo connections really need some up graded toys.
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wushu 1:28PM (3/31/2008)
This is a crime. The EU should force Porsche to divest all its shares of Audi immediately. Anti-competitive practices are bad for the consumer and ultimately bad for free market economies. And we're not even going to mention how the evil Porsche empire overlords (yes, Weideking, we're talking about you) also killed the Audi R6, a six-cylinder version of the Audi R8, that would have had more horsepower than the Cayman S (something all Caymanphiles have been clamoring for) at a price less than the Cayman non-S. It's time we petitioned the EU to take concrete punitive measure and to boycott the evil Porsche empire.
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Tom 1:29PM (3/31/2008)
of course not. just like they wouldn't fit a limited slip dif to the caymen because it would make it better and faster than the 911....
i can't imagine an R4 being greenlit at all as it would trounce the boxster... only reason they would is if they dumbed it down enough to fill a market segment like they did with the Caymen, and as such..none of us would want one anyway
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WillDaThrill 3:27AM (4/01/2008)
WTF, I'm tired of losing out to good cars because of stolen revenue or cost effectiveness. Let us decide for once, build in small quantities to see how it sells. Nobody wants a stinkin' Porsche anyway. Porsche is for rich high school kids that want to bang hot prostitutes (that never seem to exsist) while their parents are in Cabo for the week. Anything after that, you're trying too hard.
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