CarBrandLogos archive · Audi · 1994

AudiA4

Thirty years of compact executive saloon, from Torsen diffs to the very last one.

Photo: Alexander-93 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Audi history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Audi A4, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

When the Audi 80 was renamed in 1994, the new alphanumeric badge came with a new car, the B5, and a much clearer sense of what Audi was selling: a compact executive saloon and estate positioned squarely against the BMW 3 Series and the Mercedes C-Class, with front-wheel drive as standard and Torsen-based quattro above it.

2001-2005 Audi A4 2.0 sedan 03 · OSX · Public domain

Design and engineering

Two engines did most of the work. The 1.8-litre five-valve turbocharged four gave the range a modern, tuneable petrol option, and the direct-injection TDI diesels made the Avant a default choice for European company-car drivers. Above them, the twin-turbo S4 and then the B5 RS4 Avant, developed with Cosworth Technology, gave the model a performance reputation it had not started with.

2009-2010 Audi A4 2.7 TDI Avant · OSX · Public domain

2006-2009 Audi A4 3.2 FSI convertible 02

In production

Successive generations tracked Audi's rise through the 2000s, moving onto the group's MLB architecture with the B8 in 2007 and gaining a much better weight distribution when the engine and differential were repositioned. Production ran in Germany, China, India and Indonesia at various points, and the A4 was for years Audi's highest-volume model worldwide. It ended in 2025, with its replacement arriving as the A5 under Audi's revised naming, closing a line that reaches back through the 80 to the first car ever to wear the four rings.

2006-2009 Audi A4 3.2 FSI convertible 02 · OSX · Public domain

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1994–2025

Body

4-door Sedan

Technical specification

The A4, in detail.

Production: 1994–2025
Class: Compact executive car (D)
Body style: 4-door Sedan; 5-door Avant; 2-door Cabrio (2002–2009)
Layout: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive or quattro permanent four-wheel-drive
Assembly: Germany: Ingolstadt (1994–2025) ; China: Changchun (FAW-VW: 2003–2024) ; India: Aurangabad, Maharashtra; Aurangabad (Audi India: 2007–2024) ; Indonesia: Purwakarta (Garuda Mataram Motor; Garuda Mataram: B8 models only) ;
Manufacturer: Audi AG