2014 Audi A4 on 2040-cars

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The mood at this year’s Paris Motor Show: Quiet

The Paris Motor Show, held every other year in the early fall, typically kicks off the annual cavalcade of automotive conclaves, one that traverses the globe between autumn and spring, introducing projective, conceptual and production-ready vehicle models to the international automotive press, automotive aficionados and a public hungry for news of our increasingly futuristic mobility enterprise. But this year, at the press preview days for the show, the grounds of the Porte de Versailles convention center felt a bit more sparsely populated than usual. This was not simply a subjective sensation, or one influenced by the center's atypically dispersed assemblage of seven discrete buildings, which tends to spread out the cars and the crowds. There were not only fewer new vehicles being premiered in Paris this year, there were fewer manufacturers there to display them. Major mainstream European OEM stalwarts such as Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Nissan and Volkswagen chose to sit out Paris this year, as did boutique manufacturers like Bentley, Aston Martin and Lamborghini. This is not simply based in some antipathy on the part of the German, British and Italian manufacturers toward the French market — though for a variety of historical and societal reasons that market may be more dominated by vehicles produced domestically than others. Rather, it is part of a larger trend in the industry. Last year, Mercedes-Benz announced that it would not be participating in the flagship North American International Auto Show in 2019 — and that it might not return. Other brands including Jaguar/Land Rover, Audi, Porsche, Mazda and nearly every exotic carmaker have also departed the Detroit show. Some of these brands will still appear in the city in which the show is taking place, and host an event offsite, to capitalize on the presence of a large number of reporters in attendance. And even brands that do have a presence at the show have shifted their vehicle introductions to the days before the official press opening in an attempt to stand out from the crowd. In many ways, this makes sense. With an expanding number of automakers, with diversification and niche-ification of models and with wholesale shifts that necessitate the introduction of EV or autonomous sub-brands, there is a growing sense that, with everyone shouting at the same time, no one can be heard.

2017 Audi A4 First Drive [w/video]

Internally, Audi refers to the A4 lineage with a B designation. Why the discrepancy? The model legacy traces back to the 1972 Audi 80, and the A4 name wasn't adopted until 1996 for the North American market. So the fifth-generation A4 is code-named B9. There is no confusion about what this car means to Audi. In 19 years, the brand has sold more than 12 million A4s around the world, which puts this new generation on the A-list when it comes to brand importance. If you squint, the new car looks like a facelifted version of the last-generation facelift unveiled in 2013. We get the same impression of the new A4 as we do with the third-generation Audi TT: it hasn't been comprehensively reconceived, it's been comprehensively re-detailed. But with a move to the updated VW group platform known as MLB Evo, 90 percent of the components on this car are new. On the outside, those changes are reflected through deeper sculpting on a body that's about the same height as before but 0.5-inches wider, one-inch longer, and with a wheelbase stretched 0.7 inches. The tweaked grille separates reworked Bi-Xenon headlights, which are standard across the lineup now – halogens go bye-bye. LED headlights are optional, as are the matrix units in other markets. Audi claims US-market cars will lose anywhere from 70 to 100 pounds depending on specification. Above those lights is a version of a clamshell hood – its shutline forms the front third of the pronounced shoulder line along the sedan's flanks. Audi designed a new hinge that keeps the hood lined up properly over the life of a car because small misalignments show more easily on the vertical seams. In back there are updated taillights, a standard rearview camera, and a trunk opening that's an even one meter across. In the press presentations, any conversation quickly turns to weight loss and aerodynamic efficiency. The only curb weight we have from Audi so far is for the base sedan, empty and without a driver, with the 1.4 TFSI engine that we don't get, coming in at 2,910 pounds. The current US-spec A4 is listed at 3,583 pounds, and Audi claims US-market cars will lose anywhere from 70 to 100 pounds depending on specification. About 35 pounds of that comes from the chassis, with new forged aluminum links on the suspension, fixed-caliper, four-piston brakes up front, and wheels that are never heavier than 26 pounds. The rest of the weight loss comes from the body, mostly through greater use of aluminum.

Audi moves to patent electric Quattro and active-shutter wheels

Audi might have a few tricks up its sleeve for the coming years, with the Brits at Autocar uncovering a pair of patent filings made by the German luxury brand. The first is something we've seen before - wheel flaps - while the second is an evolution of one of Audi's trademark technologies.
We last saw wheel flaps on the Ford Atlas Concept in 2013, but the futuristic fuel-saving tech has so far failed to arrive on a production car. Audi may be seeking to change that, patenting the flaps that open and close automagically based on airflow. They can also open if the brakes get too hot.
The second patent is an evolution of Audi's Quattro all-wheel drive. The new AWD system uses an electrically driven rear axle and wheel sensors to figure out when and at which corner the car might lose traction, and is targeted largely at hybrid offerings, which is a field Audi has only recently dipped its toe into.