The Audi S5 coupe is something new for its maker: a sophisticated, elegant, four-seat sport coupe. Audi has built two-door cars before, but never one with the sheer audacity to be this stylish before. But the word "stylish" effectively understates the S5's beauty: This thing is flat-out gorgeous. And when the roof is chopped off to produce the available convertible, the Audi S5 looks even better.
The Audi S5 is the higher-performing version of the A5 coupe. And though they share no body panels, the A5 is essentially a coupe version of Audi's entry-level luxury sedan, the A4. When the A5/S5 went on sale as a 2008 model it was atop Audi's "Modular Longitudinal Platform" that places the engine behind the front wheel centers. Naturally, Audi's famed Quattro all-wheel-drive system is offered on the A5. And Quattro is a standard part of the S5.
While the A5's powertrain options generally mimic those of the A4, the Audi S5 was initially offered during the 2008 model year with the same V8 engine used in the S4 performance sedan and the R8 sports car. By the 2010 model year, the S5 convertible will be using a new supercharged version of Audi's familiar V6 engine. While the Audi S5 is considered a separate model from the A4/S4 or A5, it's likely its evolution will always be bound to those platform-mates.
Every Audi S5 has been powerful, but no S5 has been an unruly hot rod. The S5 is supremely civilized and almost easygoing in the way it can seemingly ingest a continent's worth of roads. The interior isn't quite lavish, but is indulgently comfortable and beautiful in general design and specific detail. Of course it's fast, but the Audi S5 is also poised in a way that few cars can be.
The Audi S5's design derives directly from the Nuvolari Quattro Concept the company displayed at car shows during 2003. However, while the Nuvolari Concept's influence is obvious in the S5's roof line and tail design, the production machine actually has a lighter, more relaxed look. The Audi S5 is that rare production car that's better-looking than the concept car that inspired it.
