Audi S4

The Audi S4 is a high performance sport version of the popular Audi A4.

First generation (1991-1994)

Audi was re-configuring its lineup during the early 1990s, and introduced the S4 in 1991 as the performance version of the re-styled 100 sedan. Despite sharing its basic structure with the 100, the S4 effectively took the place of the 200 Turbo-Quattro sedan, which had been discontinued the year before.

The S4 was sold worldwide with a turbocharged version of Audi's 2.2L (2226cc), 20-valve inline-5 engine developing 230PS (227hp/169kW) and 350N·m (258ft·lbf) of torque. A 280PS (276hp/206kW) 4.2 V8 became available to European customers as an option. Quattro all-wheel-drive and a manual transmission (six-speed in Europe, five-speed in North America) were standard equipment.

After Audi dropped the 100 nameplate and re-badged the car as A6 in 1994, the S4 became the S6, although the only real changes to the model were minor cosmetic updates and the addition of a more powerful S6 Plus model to the lineup. After the first generation A6 was replaced in 1998 by an updated version, the S4 and S6 became distinctly separate from one another.

Being the first in the S4 lineup, it is commonly referred to as the UrS4.

Second generation (1997-2002)

The second generation S4 debuted in 1997 as part of the B5 platform A4 line-up. Although the S4 was no longer available with a V8, its 2.7L, twin-turbocharged V6 engine was more than adequate, producing 265PS (195kW/261hp) in European trim. The engine was slightly detuned to meet US emissions regulations, and power stopped at 250PS (184kW/247hp) in North America.

In addition to the sedan, a wagon version, the Audi S4 Avant, debuted in the 2001 model year.

The S4 could accelerate up to 100km/h (62mph) in a mere 5.6 seconds and had an electronically-limited top speed of 250km/h (155mph), making it both the quickest sedan in the Audi model line and among the quickest sedans in the world at that time. As in the previous S4, a six-speed manual transmission was standard equipment, as was the quattro all-wheel-drive. A five-speed Tiptronic transmission became available for the first time as an option. The B5 S4 was produced through mid-2002.