infiniti

With yesterday's Frankfurt announcement that the new S4 coming out in several months would NOT have an optional manual transmission....what does this mean for the redesigned S5 due out at the end of 2016? Clearly Audi has its reasons ($$$)...but the only ones clapping are at BMW who now have the "road" all to themselves with their new 340i. I now question whehter to wait on trading in my 2013 S5 (6MT) - which is a great car - or giving up on Audi who has lost its way with a very boring looking S4 -and no MT. The renderings for the S5 do not look spectacular. Very disappointing

frybear

not to sound silly, but I would assume you can still get a European model in MT. Does Audi have ED (European delivery)? Could order one, fly over, drive it and then ship it back. Supposedly it's actually cheaper that way.

infiniti

You're not silly - but the S4's are not being manufactured in Europe either with MT.Believe it or not - Europe has led the way with dropping manuals on ALL cars due to better fuel efficiency with "automatics". Even BMW has reduced the number of MT you can buy in Europe. The question therefore remanins if Audi will try to maintain some semblance of "sport" in the S5 - with an MT - perhaps even for export only- to the U.S. Audi claims from what I read today that they could not put an MT in the S4 due to "too much torques" This ofcourse is nonsense - if they wanted to - it certainly can be done! But thanks for the suggestions - would like to think others know more than I about the fate of the 2017 S5 before I look elsewhere. Really a shame- my 2013 is truly terrific - well ahead of the 3 BMW's 3 series (although they are top-rated) my wife has been driving for the past 8-9 years in my opinion - and these have all been 6MT's as well

19hole

Even if Audi made a MT for the European market you could not buy one on the European Delivery program. The cars that are offered on that program are US Spec cars, nothing else. Even if you purchased a European Spec car in Europe (not as a European Delivery) it would be a nightmare of cost and permits to get it into the US.

8T_BoCO

+1, to what 19hole said. The import of a Euro-spec 'classic,' i.e. 25 year-old car is permitted, but not many people would want a 1990 Audi.

lmariorod

With the new S4 losing the MT, supercharger and dual clutch for the Turbo and ZF 8 speed, can the '17 S5 be far behind? Has to be a cost and weight issue. As they managed to place a DC in the newer R8.

The New Audi S4 No Longer Has A Dual Clutch Transmission

Jamblastx

If they drop the manual in the S5 it's a shame because it will be a deal breaker for me. Luckily there are other car manufacturers that are still sticking with a manual...for now. I did write to Audi of America a few months ago (I started a thread about that as well) and they gave me the non-committal 'we haven't decided anything yet'. If it's important to you, then contact them as well...maybe our voices will be heard.

19hole

I would think that it is a bit late in the cycle to have any impact on the transmission decision. These are usually made very early in the development so that all of the design elements around it can be done. It also needs to figure into the global cost model for the final product.

Jamblastx

Maybe...maybe not though. I believe that the decision to offer the M5 in a manual in the US was done pretty late and influenced by a grassroots campaign of manual enthusiasts. It cant hurt to send a quick email if it is important to you...

Fithian

The European version of the S5 was not offered with a manual trans. Only the US got the manual. If the 2017-8 S5 has no manual, I will have to look elsewhere. Porsche still has a 6-speed MT in the Cayman as well as a 7-speed manual in the 911. Not sure where else to look, since BMW has lost their way.