Javi Martin
Today almost no one thinks about it, but el Audi A4 It is one of the most important cars that the German firm has put into circulation.. If you ask any fan about the most outstanding cars of these Germans, the Audi RS2, Audi TT or Audi R8 always come up, and they are not without reason, but all of them would have been nothing without the support of the A4.
The year was 1994 and Audi 80 left the brand after several years as a pillar of the brand, as the car that established the foundations of the range that would have Audi in subsequent years. Instead The Audi A4 B5 appeared - internal model code -, the car that would establish that range that began with 80. Furthermore, it also would establish the standards for all Audi: production quality, latest generation engines that would be the reference in terms of performance -both diesel and gasoline-, sports versions, mass sales...
Audi has built its premium image on a handful of cars, and all four have been named here, but The A4 was the definitive step on which to sustain the current image of the brand. Without the Audi A4, the Audi TT or the Audi R8 would never have existed, nor would we see the four rings as a high-end seal, nor would there have been cars like the Audi RS6 with a V10 engine or an Audi A3 with 400 HP.
THE AUDI A4 B5 ALLOWED THE DOOR OF THE PREMIUM SEGMENT TO BE OPENED
The history of Audi is quite interesting, especially because it traces its roots back to beyond the 30s. We are not going to go into what that history was like now, we are just going to remember that its logo, the four interlocking rings, represent two brands. that formed the automobile group Auto Union: Horch, DKW, Wanderer and Audi. Among them, Horch and Audi were created by the same person, August Horch. When Volkswagen took control of Auto Union, wanted to break with the past and They decided to use the Audi name.
But of course, when it was decided to use Audi commercially again, the brand had lost almost all brand image. This, which was ideal for starting over, was an obstacle to initially positioning it as a premium label. Work had to be done on it, which took several decades that finally ended with the staging of the first generation of the A4, also known as the Audi A4 B5. Internal name inherited from the Audi 80, basically because The A4, introduced in 1994, was an Audi 80 that had been renamed, as was done, for example, with the Audi 100, which became Audi A6.
But not only was it possible to set foot in the premium segment, but established the design language that characterized the brand's products for the following years. It presented an evolution of the features that the Audi A8 and the Audi A6 had already adopted – it could be seen on the front and in the door panels – but they were outlined and some sobriety was subtracted to achieve a more dynamic image.
The car was an immediate success. Just in the first full year of marketing, in 1995, just over 272.000 units were sold.; It is a spectacular figure for a car that cost the same as a BMW Serie 3, and therefore, was well above the segment average. In 2019, after 20 years on the market, it had reached 7,5 million units.
THE 1.8 20VT AND 1.9 TDI ENGINES WERE THE PILLARS OF THE RANGE
When we talk about a car put into circulation in 1994, it is best to take a look at the magazines of the time and check, more than the sensations, the cold and pure data. They are the best example of why a car like the Audi A4 meant so much to the brand, and in general, to the market. Without the Audi A4 B5, for example, the BMW 3 Series E46 would not have existed., considered one of the best editions of the Bavarian sedan - it went on sale in 1997 -.
And that was the fault not only of its design and manufacturing quality, details that positioned the brand among the best on the market, the range of engines and the different versions that the range had helped it become one of the cars most popular in Europe. Nevertheless, Two engines should be highlighted for their special importance: the 1.8 20vt and the 1.9 TDI, engines that almost by themselves shaped the German sedan range..
First, a four cylinder gasoline, turbo and cylinder head with five valves per cylinder, it is one of the most versatile engines that the Volkswagen Group has designed. It had versions that started at 150 HP, and went up to 240 HP, although in the Audi A4 it was only available with 150 and 180 HP - while others, with 210, 225 and 240 HP, were offered in other models, such as the Audi TT, the Audi S3 or the SEAT León Cupra.
Regarding the second, It is the most famous turbodiesel engine in the world and, in part, the culprit of the enormous evolution that the technology had later.. Today its configuration draws attention, with a cylinder head with only two valves, with direct injection without common-rail and, depending on the version, with a fixed or variable geometry turbo. It produced between 90 and 160 HP, although the latter was only available in the SEAT Ibiza Cupra TDI. For the Audi it was offered with 90, 110 and 130. There was a 150 HP version of this engine, but the A4 had the V6 2.5 TDI, which produced 150 HP back in 1998 and was one of the engines that earned the most praise since the press.
GOODBYE FOREVER?
Of course, the Audi A4 B5 also had versions equipped with the famous quattro all-wheel drive system and we must not forget a saga that was completely established with this car: the Audi S and Audi RS. The A4 had a variant of each saga, the S4 and the RS4, both based on the same mechanics developed with Cosworth, but one with 265 HP and another with no less than 380 HP.
It is evident that that first generation of the A4 was one of Audi's pillars for its "premium evolution", a pillar that now knows its end, at least as we knew it until now. Audi will allocate even numbers for its electric cars, and therefore, The Audi A4 is no longer the car we have always known and will become, in the future, an electric car. Instead, it will be the Audi A5 that will be in charge of battling with the BMW 3 Series or the Mercedes C-Class. And for this reason, the A5 coupe and cabrio also disappear.
