2010 Audi S5

2010 Audi S5 Cabriolet - Click above for high-res image gallery Taking a great looking performance car and chopping off its roof is risky business – compromises are inevitable. That's especially true in this modern age of unibody structures. Removing a big chunk of a vehicle's architecture without adequately reinforcing what's left can yield a chassis incapable of managing the position of the wheels, let alone result in a vehicle that loses its level of driver engagement and enthusiasm. On the other hand, reinforcements add mass – often lots of it. It's a treacherous path, as both flaccid body control and weight are the mortal enemy of performance. You can understand our trepidation, then, upon learning that Audi was planning on introducing its S5 Cabriolet at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. By our reckoning, the German debutante's rollout was cause for both consternation and celebration. When the A5 and S5 coupes arrived in 2007, they were hailed as being among the best looking cars ever to wear the brand's Four Rings. The new Cabriolet models would bring with them the euphoria of open-air motoring, but we had to wonder – would Audi's rakish new hardtop be turned into a floppy flier just by giving it a roofectomy? Equally as important, would the model's newly downsized engine drop the performance? There was only one thing to do: Put the range-topping S5 Cabriolet through a week-long test. %Gallery-90258% Photos by Sam Abuelsamid / Max Abuelsamid / Copyright ©2010 Weblogs, Inc. The first decision that Audi's engineers faced in designing their new A5/S5 cabrio was deciding what kind of roof to specify. The trend over the last decade has been toward complex folding hardtop mechanisms, as they tend to provide the same sort of quiet interior as a regular coupe, along with a bit more security. Unfortunately, these hardtops simply don't like to fold up as compactly as fabric lids. As a result, cars equipped with folding tin tops tend to have excessively long rear decks and greatly compromised trunk space – particularly when the top is down. Thus, the al fresco driving fans among us were thrilled to see that Audi instead opted to specify a more traditional fabric top for its A5 and S5. This pays huge dividends for both the utility and aesthetics of these models. When Audi developed the B8 platform that underpins the A5/S5 and A4, it stretched the wheelbase, in the process moving the front axle forward about six inches compared to the (somewhat frumpy looking) outgoing A4 Cabriolet. As a result, the new coupe had a much more balanced and cab rearward profile than its predecessor. Going with a softtop has helped Audi largely maintain the coupe's winning profile while avoiding the big-butt appearance of cars like the Lexus SC 430 and IS 350 convertible. The other half of the hard/soft top debate is utility. Even with an extended rear deck, a folding hardtop usually consumes much of the available trunk space. For example, cargo …
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