Autoblog

Audi S4 named Esquire Car of the Year [w/video]

Jeff Glucker — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 18:27:00 EST

Filed under: Etc.

Esquire's 2010 COTY is the 2010 Audi S4 - Click above to watch video after the jump

Esquire, the purveyor of printed pages packed with ads and male-centric eye-candy, has released its list of 2010 automotive award winners. The top award is the Car of the Year and the magazine is handing that title to the 2010 Audi S4. Esquire makes a strong statement behind its reasoning, and it's hard to argue with its logic.

Numbers and stats are starting points, but we believe that the Esquire Car of the Year should make you feel something deep in your gut. You should lust for it and dream about it, but it shouldn't be an impossible goal. It must be attainable for the average man. It should sit in front of your house or office without drawing attention to itself and tackle four seasons of day-to-day transportation with ease. Yet crucially, sometimes, without warning, it must make you snatch the keys off the wall, haul off to the country and just drive.

After putting our own butts in the driver's seat, we felt the B8 S4 was a wonderful leap forward over the past B6 and B7 iterations, particularly with the new supercharged V6 and trick torque vectoring sport differential.

Esquire hands out more than just a COTY award as well. The magazine scoured the current crop of automotive excellence and handed out check pluses for: Domestic Car of the Year, Hybrid of the Year, Most Awe-Inspiring Car Built This Year, Compact Car of the Year, Most Beautiful Car of the Year, Truck of the Year, Diesel Car of the Year, Best Foreign Comeback, Best Domestic Comeback and Best Expression of Automotive Passion. Who wins? You're going to have to make the jump to find out. And there's a nice little video of the Audi S4 happily accepting its award.

Gallery: Review: 2010 Audi S4

Photos copyright (C)2009 Damon Lavrinc / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Esquire]

Continue reading Audi S4 named Esquire Car of the Year [w/video]

Audi S4 named Esquire Car of the Year [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 18:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Car and Driver announces 2010 10Best Cars

Jonny Lieberman — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:29:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc.

Our pals over at Car and Driver, now helmed by our esteemable buddy Eddie Alterman, just released their 2010 10Best Cars. Quite an undertaking. As they put it, "58 contenders. $2.5 million total. 12,000 test miles logged." For those keeping track, this is the 28th time C/D has published their 10Best. Surprises this year? No not really. The BMW 3 Series continues its unabated drive of dominance to 10Best history with an impressive, will-probably-never-be-duplicated 19th straight win. Not to be too outdone, the Honda Accord also makes the cut for a 24th time, though not consecutive.

Also note that while the Audi S4 makes the grade, the run-of-the-mill (so to speak) A4 does not. We're also pleased to see the Ford Fusion Hybrid getting its just dues (again, it's interesting that the gas-only version doesn't). And of course, you've got your yearly appearance by the Mazda Miata MX-5, Porsche Boxster / Cayman and Volkswagen GTI. Falling off the list this year? The Chevrolet Corvette, Infiniti G37, and the Jaguar XF.

Would we have done things much differently? Probably not much, though we must admit we were pulling for the highly impressive Suzuki Kizashi to make its debut and we're a bit surprised to not see one of the new crop of pony cars on the list. Maybe next year. Alphabetical list of winners after the jump.

[Source: Car and Driver | Image Source: R.S. Owens]

Continue reading Car and Driver announces 2010 10Best Cars

Car and Driver announces 2010 10Best Cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: Yes, the 2010 Audi S4 can drift

Damon Lavrinc — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:57:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Wagon, Videos, Audi, Luxury

Click above to view the video after the jump

When we drove the 2010 Audi S4, we praised the sedan's trick electronic rear differential for its ability to shuffle torque between the rear wheels to give the sensation, if not the exact effect, of oversteer. Unfortunately, our track time was spent in an e-diffless model, so we didn't get to fully exploit its potential around Infineon. However, hot-shoe Ignacio Perez did just that at Spain's Jarama circuit.

After the jump you can watch Perez putting the new S4 into full-on drifts around the track with one nervous front seat passenger and his camera-wielding companion in tow. Although getting the S4 sideways isn't too difficult (we did it a few times in the standard model), you can see in the video that speed drops off precipitously at corner the exit. Regardless, modern-day Audis are no longer relentlessly pushing, nose-heavy beasts and, what's more, Perez was wagging his tail in an S4 Avant, the five-door version we can't get in the States... dammit.

Gallery: Review: 2010 Audi S4

[Source: Fourtitude]

Continue reading VIDEO: Yes, the 2010 Audi S4 can drift

VIDEO: Yes, the 2010 Audi S4 can drift originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: 2010 Audi S4 brings back the boost, gives "S" a reason for being

Damon Lavrinc — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:56:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Audi, New Car Reviews

2010 Audi S4 - Click above for high-res image gallery

We'll just come right out and say it: Audi lost the plot with the last generation S4. Unlike the twin-turbocharged V6-equipped B5, its B6 and B7 brethren did little to stoke the flames in our collective hearts. The "S" simply stood for, "I paid more for a bigger engine and some additional trim." Needless to say, that sort of behavior doesn't cut it when you're battling it out with one of the most competent sports sedan of the last decade: the BMW 335i.

So with the all-new A4 (B8) comes the 2010 Audi S4 - the most credible contender to BMW's hugely competent middle child. This time, Audi brings back the boost. And it's about damn time...

Gallery: Review: 2010 Audi S4

Continue reading Review: 2010 Audi S4 brings back the boost, gives "S" a reason for being

Review: 2010 Audi S4 brings back the boost, gives "S" a reason for being originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi prices 2010 S4 in U.S. from $45,900*

John Neff — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:28:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, Performance, Audi, Luxury

2010 Audi S4 - Click above for high-res image gallery

After a year-long absence on U.S. soil, the Audi S4 is about to return with all of the enhancements that debuted last year in the all-new B4 A4 sedan. Oh yeah, plus a screaming 3.0-liter supercharged V6 producing 333 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque. The new S4 was just added to the Audi USA website yesterday, and pricing has been revealed to start at $45,900 (*not including a destination and delivery charge of $825). At that price you get the S4 sedan with a six-speed manual transmission, while the S4 with Audi's seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch tranny starts little higher at $47,300. Despite being down two cylinders to the previous V8-powered S4, the new model hustles to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds, about .4 seconds faster. It's also more fuel efficient, achieving 18 mpg city/27 highway compared to the old model's 13 mpg city/20 highway.

Audi doesn't consider the S4 an M3 competitor, but rather a perfect foil for people considering a BMW 335i or Mercedes-Benz C350. The 335i starts lower at $40,300, but offers an engine that, while sonorously sweet, produces only 300 horsepower. The C350, meanwhile, starts lower still at $39,000, but again features a 3.5-liter V6 producing only 268 horsepower. The crazy thing is that the S4, despite being more powerful than its cross-country German rivals, is more fuel efficient than them both.

Gallery: 2010 Audi S4

[Source: Audi]

Continue reading Audi prices 2010 S4 in U.S. from $45,900*

Audi prices 2010 S4 in U.S. from $45,900* originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MTM turns up the wick on the 2010 Audi S4

Damon Lavrinc — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:03:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Tuners, Sedan, Europe, Audi

2010 Audi S4 - Click above for a high-res image gallery

The tuners at MTM have begun tweaking the all-new 2010 Audi S4 (B8) in Europe, and as expected, Audi's new supercharged 333-hp 3.0-liter V6 is rife with potential. With only a revised ECU - no underdrive pulley, intake or exhaust mods - MTM was able to coax 430 crank horsepower out of the blown six - 97 hp more than stock.

The kit, which retails for 2,491 euros (around $3,500 USD), brings torque output up to 380 lb-ft and, according to MTM, drops the 0-60 mph time from 5.2 to 4.6 seconds. Clearly, good things are on the way for the BMW 335i fighter, and we expect more to follow when the new darling of the Euro-tuning scene arrives in the States later this year.

Gallery: Paris 2008: 2010 Audi S4

[Source: MTM]

MTM turns up the wick on the 2010 Audi S4 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More details on Audi's forthcoming 350 hp, supercharged S4

Damon Lavrinc — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:28:00 EST

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Sedan, Paris Motor Show, Audi

After a report yesterday that the next S4 would be benefiting from a supercharger, Volkswagen AG's powertrain head, Wolfgan Hatz, presented the automaker's new 3.0-liter TFSI engine at the Vienna Motor Symposium. According to Auto Motor und Sport, the new engine will be fitted with a blower and putting out around 350 hp when fitted to the next generation S4. The supercharged six is expected to return better fuel mileage than its V8 counterpart and will also be fitted to the refreshed A6, due out towards the end of this year, although output will be reduced to 290 hp and 310 lb.-ft. of torque. Additionally, both models will benefit from a Magna-sourced sports differential that will migrate to the Q5 and S5 down the line. No timeframe was provided about the release of the S4, but we'd expect to see the A6 replacement in Paris, with the S4 debuting at the LA Auto Show in November.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport via MotiveMag]

More details on Audi's forthcoming 350 hp, supercharged S4 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: 2010 Audi S4 to get supercharged V6

Noah Joseph — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:29:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Technology, Audi

Emerging reports suggest that the next Audi S4 will ditch the current model's V8 and open up the gap a little with the top-of-the-line RS4 with a new supercharged V6. Bearing the 3.0T or TFSI badge, the 2010 S4 could benefit from "twin-charging" with the possible inclusion of a turbo in addition to the supercharger.

With a potential unveiling at the LA Auto Show in November, the supercharged S4 is also tipped to feature a Magna-sourced "sport differential" like the ZF unit featured in the BMW X6, bringing the fight to the turbocharged BMW 335i, while the RS4 takes on the M3. While power will likely remain similar to the current 339-hp 4.2-liter V8 and weight only marginally reduced by 100 lbs or less, the purpose in switching to forced induction would be to improve fuel economy while returning comparable performance. The S4 is also expected to be developed outside Quattro GmbH, while the RS4 would be created by the Audi performance division, giving the former a more restrained look compared to the all-out bulging bodywork of the latter. The forced-induction V6 is also tipped to replace the 3.2-liter V6 in the base Audi A6 Quattro.

[Source: Car and Driver]

REPORT: 2010 Audi S4 to get supercharged V6 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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