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2017 Audi A4 evolves into a larger, lighter luxury sedan [w/video]

Audi took the evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, approach when it came time to redesign the brand's A4. While the latest generation's look might not set hearts racing, a plethora of tiny tweaks by the engineers manage to make the the four-door larger, up to 264 pounds lighter, and slice the drag coefficient down to 0.23. Audi has made its modern reputation on the style and quality of its interiors, and the new A4 seems to make good on that tradition. In-cabin appointments and tech see a serious upgrade, including offering Audi's fully digital, Virtual Cockpit, instrument panel. In the US, the new A4 arrives for the 2017 model year offering power from either diesel or gasoline. The 2.0-liter TDI is essentially a carryover from the Audi lineup, but the 2.0-liter TFSI sees some big upgrades, including a new cylinder head. It's now rated at 252 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque. At launch here, all A4s get a seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch gearbox. Front-wheel drive and Quattro all-wheel drive are available. For an added dose of forbidden fruit, you can check out the crimson A4 Avant in the gallery above the from Frankfurt Motor Show. Take a good look because this long-roof variant isn't coming to the US. Yes, we're listening to sad violin music, too. Although, the next Allroad is coming here eventually after that higher-riding wagon debuts.

2015 Audi S3 Sedan

For the last few years, Audi has been publicly toying with building a successor to its Ur-Quattro, a model still glowing in a gritty patina of motorsports glory decades after it left the scene. If anything, the rally car's halo has burned brighter as Audi has matured into a world luxury superpower. Since 2010, the German automaker has shown two different concept cars that attempted to re-bottle the legend's lightning, and it's still trying to figure out whether to market a production model. Despite that conundrum (and not to take anything away from the seminal Ur-Quattro), it's easy to argue that there are two other cars much more important to Audi's rise from its '80s ashes: the original TT and the B5-generation A4 and its high-performance variants.
The TT thrust Audi into the vanguard of automotive styling while firmly establishing the Volkswagen Group as masters of platform development (the same basic architecture and powertrain guts were employed in a dizzying array of models, from the Golf, Jetta and New Beetle to a number of Škoda products). This unprecedented, flexible building-block approach to new model development has since become the standard of the industry.
In the case of its B5 cars, the A4, S4 and RS4 put Audi back on the radar of rival German automakers, and more importantly, they grew the Four Rings' sales by leaps and bounds while reminding the world that all-wheel drive needn't only benefit hardcore performance cars and utility vehicles. Fast-forward to today, and the A4 has established itself as the bedrock of Audi's lineup, but it's also grown over its four generations to become substantially larger, heavier and costlier than the model that debuted back in 1996 America. That's created a vacuum at the bottom of the range that the company has inadequately addressed - until now.

Audi S3 Cabriolet is a topless two-door temptress

Now that we've driven the Audi S3, we're pretty eager for it go on sale in the United States. And while we won't get the Sportback version, there's a teeny tiny chance that Audi may grace us with this new Cabriolet version that makes its debut at the Geneva Motor Show this week.
That certainly wouldn't be a shame, considering the topless S3 packs the same 290 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque as the sedan, all of which comes from a turbocharged, 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine. That folding roof mechanism adds a bit of weight to the S3 package, and thus, reaching that ever-so-special 62 miles per hour takes an extra half a second - 5.4 compared to 4.9 with the S3 sedan.
Looks-wise, we dig the aggressive little S3, though the chrome wheels of the show car are kind of throwing us off. Swap out a set of standard alloys, and we'll be good to go. Have a look in the gallery above to see the topless Audi for yourself.