Audi R4

[tristatez28lt1]

Audi R5



The upcoming Audi R5 roadster has routinely been called the “Baby R8,” in reference to its design similarities with the German automaker’s high-performance mid-engine supercar. We doubt Audi minds the comparison. This new entry-level Audi sports car is being developed in cooperation withVW and Porsche, both of which will spin off their own variations. This illustration offers a look at what Audi’s convertible version will look like. A hardtop coupe is also planned.
VW already offered a preview of what’s to come at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, where it displayed its sleek 2-seat diesel-powered Concept Bluesport. Porsche has been a tad more secretive, but we expect its version to slot beneath the Boxster in size, power and price. A 1.9-liter flat-4 cylinder engine will power the Porsche, whereas traditional inline-4 cylinders (and possibly an inline-5) will motivate the VW and Audi. The platform will accommodate rear- and all-wheel-drive systems. Hybrid and electric-powered versions are also possible.

 

[Mr Robert]

Yeah, I'd buy that. I don't know what version I'd get, but I imagine Porsche would make a marvelous flat four...

 

[Deckhook]

What's not to like. Though I doubt either Mercedes or BMW will follow with something similar simply because VAG can justify the business case of this over three different brands (Porsche, VW and Audi) something neither BMW or Merc can do.

Given the choice of a 2.5L R4 or a v8 R8 I would pick the R4 every single time and I bet most would.

 

[martinbo]

Oh, I'd rather a V8 droptop R8 than any flat four turbo anything. Flat fours, I'm so over-familiar with them. Oh wait, that's only slated for Boxster-junior... The R4 will probably have a inline 4. Hmmm, humdrum four-pot vs one of the world's great V8 engines. No brainer. R8 will be a future classic in every one of its guises.

 

[Deckhook]

If Audi don't offer their amazing inline5 and only a 4cyl then I might agree with you in picking the R8 but I don't believe they won't offer that engine because it was designed to fit where only the 4cyl went before. As for the Porsche with it's boxer4, I wonder what it will sound like, will it have the bassy note of an Imperza or a slightly off Porsche boxer engine note.

 

[martinbo]

Agreed about the inline 5 pot turbo from Audi. Easily one of the car world's greatest engines currently in production.

Hard to predict the sound of the flat-four; if it's a twin scroll turbo the it'll definitely not have the offbeat thrum of a typical Impreza turbo.

 

[Centurion]

The only way I can see this car having market potential is if the R8 goes upmarket by not coming in an entry level 400hp-ish version so that this model can span from 300hp to 450hp. Worst case senerio would be if we have another Cayman i.e a promising mid-engine car with a brilliant chassi that cannot realise its full potential because of an older sibling.

 

[tristatez28lt1]

R4/R5 Renders from Autobild and Auto Motor und Sport:

If it ends up looking anything like this it will be a hit. Looks stunning.

 

[tristatez28lt1]

 

[eryk03]

R4/R5 Renders from Autobild and Auto Motor und Sport:

If it ends up looking anything like this it will be a hit. Looks stunning.

The best one yet

 

[tristatez28lt1]

The best one yet

I absolutely agree. If it looks anything like that it will be stunner.

Here are Auto Motor und Sport's new renders:
Source: http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/...elle-bis-2016-das-heer-der-ringe-1880165.html

 

[JHF]

A few years ago Audi appeared gung-ho about launching a new mid-engine sports car positioned between its TT and R8, and based on a platform to be shared with Volkswagen and possibly even Porsche.

After a couple of concepts and plenty of rumors, news of the new sports car, which was tipped to be called the R4, went dead.

Fast forward to today, and talk of a new mid-engine sports car from Audi is once again making headlines.

Speaking with Autocar, Audi R&D boss Wolfgang Dürheimer revealed that a Porsche Boxster-sized sports car had been in “design, packaging and evaluation” phases but was not a major priority.

He went on to reveal that developing a new sports car with sufficient technology but with a pricetag between that of the TT and R8 would be difficult.

“We would want to bring technology to the segment, but getting the volume and pricing right for a mainstream sports car would be a challenge,” he said.

Of more interest to Audi is a fully fledged supercar that leverages technology derived from its successful Le Mans project. Dürheimer said the supercar was progressing to the design stage despite the project yet to receive the production green light.


Could Audi Revive Stillborn R4 Sports Car?

 

[ACE]

Just throw in the 4pot from the S3 and/or the 5pot from the TTRS and RWD biased quattro from the existing parts bin and this mid engined sports car will be an instant hit.

 

[Tumbo]

Rumor: Return of the R4 or Much Ado About Nothing?


Remember the on-again/off-again rumor of an Audi sportscar, let’s call it R4, that could or would have been based on a mid-engine MQB derived platform first shown as the Volkswagen Bluesport TDI concept car? To be frank, the rumor has been more off again than on, but fresh fuel was thrown on the ever-so-burning embers of this rumor this week when Volkswagen Group chief of design Walter de Silva spoke on the issue of such a car… at least such a Volkswagen.
First, let’s stick to what was actually said. According to Auto Motor und Sport, de Silva reportedly stated when asked about the mid-engine roadster idea, “I’m not the only one in our company who is convinced that a small roadster for Volkswagen would not be the worst idea. This is a vehicle that we particularly like and we always have in mind.”
Those words aren’t exactly confirmation of anything, but they’re encouraging given all these years of thinking the project was dead. One of the last rumors pointed that at Audi, saying Ingolstadt didn’t want to go along and Audi’s added volume was critical to a business case. The brands operate autonomously enough that this was enough to keep the project from moving forward even though Volkswagen and Porsche were both reportedly on board.
Given de Silva was asked about such a car and the answer was vague enough, any further theorizations are pure conjecture. Even still, the project has some highly placed benefactors in the likes of de Silva and also Volkswagen Group development boss Ulrich Hackenberg. No doubt they’re always likely looking at the business case. Perhaps now at Audi there is renewed interest in the idea of an ‘R4′-like vehicle, or maybe the rumors of an imminent purchase of Alfa Romeo have them thinking a different Alfa-badged direction for the project. Time will tell.

 

[tristatez28lt1]

Intel: Mid-Engine Audi R4, R5 or Whatever Back-On Says Kable - Fourtitude.com

Good news for those who’d like a baby R8. Audi appears to be back on the road to development of the mid-engine sportscar known often on our rumor pages as “R4″ or “R5″. Even better, the intel comes from the very reliable AutoCar contributor Greg Kable and just following his likely attendance at the Audi future lab event in Berlin last week when he’d have seen board-level executives who should know. In other words, we’d classify the intel is highly likely.
Kable’s story in AutoCar says the “R4″ is destined for production in 2014/15 now that Rupert Stadler has approved the plan for shared platform with Porsche’s and Volkswagen’s own planned offerings. When last we’d visited this story, the car had been put on hold because Audi was concerned about its positioning in relation to the TT. Though there’s a fair price gap between the top-of-the-line TT RS and the base R8 4.2, the performance gap is much more narrow suggested one highly placed source at quattro GmbH. Apparently this hasn’t stopped a reversal of decision because Kable suggests the car will follow the TT into showroooms twoard teh end of 2014. Perhaps launching it after the new car makes this less of a concern.

This is all great news, but the configuration of the car is still a curiosity. Discussion of the R4 came not long after Volkswagen first showed its BlueSport concept years ago. That car featured a transverse engine layout that was intended to share much with the group’s then-upcoming MQB architecture. Audi showed an electric concept that would likely have been similar in the blue e-tron coupe shown at Detroit. Then came the e-tron Spyder Concept that used a V6 TDI range extender presumably mounted longitudinally. Though no one ever said it, that care either previewed the MSB mid-engine architecture that should see fit in the next-generation R8/Gallardo or could also be more related in production gestation to the now-in-play Porsche-developed MSB-M (MSB-mid architecture said to be planned for the next Cayman/Boxster and eventually R8/Gallardo and more).
The Volkswagen Group had continued to debate small roadster products. Volkswagen very much wanted to build BlueSport, though Audi’s much needed volume was in the air when Ingolstadt didn’t sign on and Porsche was looking at going its own route by migrating its own small car to the scaleable MSB-M. All of these rumors had been outlined in the UK press and most of that via CAR’s Georg Kacher.
Kable’s latest report in AutoCar leaves us a bit perplexed though when it comes to background. It sounds like there may be a new “option” through creative use of these modular systems. Here are some key details he mentions.

Chassis ChoiceFirst, he refers to the e-tron Spyder as the inspiration for the new model. He also confirms Audi considered a more complicated ASF take on what sounds like the MQB option (think mid-engine equivalent to TT ASF). However, now that Porsche is solidly part of the plan, Kable reports things shifted and that the car will share front-end structure with the third-generation Boxster (MQB-M?)The rear structure will be “radically different”.
The story also reveals the engine will be transversely mounted and makes reference to the MMB platform, suggesting all Volkswagen Group cars on MMB will be transverse. This is the first we’ve seen MMB in use as a term, and we’re assuming then that this refers to the MQB mid-engine projects that we’ve called MQB-M in the past, though that was never a term we’d heard from a source.
Engines & Transmissions
Regarding engines, the car is said to center around two engines. First is the 2.0 TFSI (230 bhp standard and also 280 bhp S3 spec). The range topper will be a 350 bhp 2.5 TFSI from the TT RS by 2015. There’s also talk of a TDI or TDI hybrid version that would use a not-yet-seen 2.0 Bi-TDI pushing at least 200 bhp and 295 lb-ft of torque. Transmissions are said to include both a manual gearbox and an S tronic DSG.

quattro or Torque VectoringThere’s no real mention of quattro in Kable’s story and that likely means this will be the first Audi since the A2 to not offer an all-wheel drive option unless Audi moves ahead with an e-tron version that would use electrical power at the front in a sort of e-quattro manner. The mid-engine MQB (now MMB) option always suggested that the addition of all-wheel drive was unlikely for the more mainstream petrol or diesel configurations. Since the car is going that route, this isn’t that surprising. Even still, MMB’s intensive sharing with MQB will offer an interesting alternative. Front-drive MQB offerings like the GTI now feature a torque-vectoring front differential that we hear is incredibly effective. Given Audi’s use of all-wheel drive, this differential won’t be playing much into plans for the MQB-based Audi A3 or TT models, though with the drive wheels at the rear for the MMB Audi R4, the torque vectoring would also move to the rear. Kable’s story says Audi is considering the differential for use with the R4.
Want to read more about this story? Check out the full story onAutoCar along with their own render.

 

[tristatez28lt1]

Audi's new baby R4 supercar | Autocar

Audi's new baby R4 supercar

£25k two-seater gets go-ahead after internal VW Group debate; two-litre turbo power, diesel likely

by Greg Kable
2 June 2011
Audi’s £25k mid-engined R4 is destined for production in 2014/15, after chairman Rupert Stadler decided to press ahead with a plan to share platforms with new entry-level Porsche and Volkswagen two-seaters.
Previewed by the E-tron Spyder concept, the new sports car project has been the subject of intensive planning between Audi, Porsche and VW. Recent reports in the German media have even suggested the R4 had been placed on hold, amid concerns it was too close to the established TT.
But Audi officials have confirmed to Autocar that the svelte-looking R4 has received the official green light, and will form a significant part of the company’s future sports car programme.
“We have not abandoned plans for a roadster along the lines of the E-tron Spyder,” a source revealed to Autocar. “We have reached a stage where we are moving forward and are now in the process of progressing the business case further, but it won’t go on sale until after the third-generation TT.”
While the exact launch timing remains secret, confirmation that the R4 will follow the TT into showrooms suggests that sales will start towards the end of 2014. “We have to make sure there is space in the line-up without causing a conflict with existing models,” said our insider. “It will definitely happen.”
That timing should see the R4 lining up alongside the larger, second-generation R8 supercar, with which it will also share styling themes, inspired by the E-tron Spyder concept.
Read more on the Audi R4's VW and Porsche sister roadsters
Until Stadler made the key decision, the sticking point for the R4 programme had been its proposed construction. Plans initially called for a relatively simple and cost-effective steel unitary body arrangement with component sets taken from the Volkswagen Golf.
Engineers also considered basing it around a more complex aluminium spaceframe design; that would have been expensive, but would have provided added engineering integrity. However, the decision to bring Porsche into the project in early 2010 has seen a further evolution in the plan.
Insiders now suggest the production version of the R4 will share major elements of its front-end structure with the third-generation Boxster – itself closely related to the 911. The R4’s rear structure, however, will be “radically different”, according to one Audi source.
Read Autocar's VW BlueSport concept review
Engineering efforts are concentrating initially on two petrol engines, a similar strategy to that used on the R8. As with all models based on the Group’s new MMB platform, they will be mounted transversely behind the cabin and deliver power to the rear wheels, a layout that allows significant parts sharing with front-drive engine and gearbox modules.
Although a launch model has yet to be finalised, Audi sources suggest the car will run a modified version of today’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine, featuring a new variable cam and valve lift control system that was recently unveiled at the Vienna engine symposium.
This new unit, likely to get its first airing on the third-gen A3 in early 2012, is said to kick out 230bhp in standard form. A more heavily tuned 280bhp version is planned for the new S3 and due out in late 2013.
Read more on Audi's all-new A3
The attention-stealer, however, is set to be a range-topping 350bhp version developed by Quattro GmbH and powered by the same turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder powerplant from the RS3 and TT RS. With 350bhp — 35bhp more than today’s most potent Boxster — it promises heady performance with 0-62mph in less than 5.0sec and a top speed of around 175mph.
The five-pot variant is likely to follow a couple of years after the R4’s initial launch; an on-sale date of around 2015 looks likely.
A bigger surprise is the very strong possibility of a diesel powerplant in the line-up, as part of a push to link Audi’s Le Mans 24 Hours successes in diesel-powered endurance racers with its road cars.
A strong candidate is a yet-to-be-seen twin-turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder oil-burner, set to be aired in next year’s A3 and likely to make at least 200bhp and 295lb ft.
Full story - Audi's 500bhp A1 quattro
As part of the modular engineering strategy behind the MMB mid-engined sports car platform, Audi plans two gearbox options: a standard six-speed manual and a seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch unit.
Also under consideration is a new, electronically-operated differential with torque vectoring to boost traction and make cornering more neutral.
A lesser priority, according to senior Ingolstadt officials, is an electric version based on the E-tron Spyder revealed at last year’s Detroit motor show.

Volkswagen Group’s modular plug-in electric architecture will provide the motive power, possibly in conjunction with four-wheel drive.

 

[Levi68]

Audi: TT-RS, R4, R8, Quattro
Mercedes: SLK AMG, SL AMG, SLC AMG
Toyota/Lexus: GT86, Supra, LF-LC
Nissan: 370Z, GT-R, 160Z
Honda: NSX
Renault: Alpine
Alfa Romeo: 4C
BMW: ???? Nothing? Hahahaha! What losers!

 

[JHF]

 

[Giannis]

Now, that would be mucking afazing!

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

That looks good but it's too R8 for what it ought to be, IMO. If it was more like the concept that was unveiled a couple of years ago, that'd be wonderful.

Even though I read the thread as "R4," I was thinking "Quattro" Ugh, I need to catch up on sleep.

That said, for an R4, it looks real good.