ArvX147

2010 S4 B8 -> 2013 B8.5 3 years.

markcincinnati

The B8 (which covers the B segment) was released in 2008. I took delivery of my 2009 A4 Prestige, S-Line in 2008. I got my 2014 S4 in 2013. While I understand the hairs that we may split, I was generally talking about the "cycle" of the segment. The B8 came to the US in 2008 and was called a 2009. The B9 came to the US -- depending on how you count -- as a 2017 MY. Audi has been doing this 8-year cycle, IMHO, too long. The .5 releases are not a bad thing, but the entire cycle needs to be shortened by perhaps 2 (maybe 3) years based on the speed at which technology is actually available.

In any case, here is how THEY would count in the above example. Add one for the segment upgrade spanning 2009 - 2013.

MY ---Year

2010 - 1
2011 - 2
2012 - 3
2013 - 4

But in SEGMENT terms, the current cycle is 8 and mid-cycle has typically been 4 or 5, usually 5 meaning 5 as segment.0 and 3 as segment.5.

ArvX147

Yeah, I agree that dev times *should* be faster, but have to point out you are comparing Scars to A cars ad the S car is always 1 model year after the A car, but not on the refresh - the refresh cars come on the same model year. The B8.5 had a tech update, and I wouldnt be surprised if we started seeing 2 refreshes per cycle to keep the tech current.

markcincinnati

Arv, I hope you are right. If you are wrong and Audi keeps up this LOOOOONNNNGGG cycle mode of operation, I would think the cars would be "long in the tooth" for most of their "cycle" -- if the B9s don't update to the B10s for yet another 6 years, gawd, the things will be moldy.

ArvX147

Relevant, although its for europe. could be coming here in 2019 or 2020

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/...mage=100656482

markcincinnati

As my friend says (about the "update" noted in the motorauthity.com news): All yak and no shack!

All this energy, time and money spent on what would appear to be "no update" other than the cosmetics. Now, the availability of the S4's seats is a big plus -- but the car gets no real performance upgrades. How about 280 HP (or how about the output of the S3 crammed into the "new" A4?) I recognize the value of form -- I know the styling is very important. But if you're going to imply "more" with the styling, why not give a bit more -- especially in the competition model? Then the S4 needs a goose too -- not a big goose, but a goose in power and torque that is at least meaningful to the Audi aficionado; even 5-8% more power and torque would be felt.

All yak and no shack indeed!

SCarGuy

You'll see it at some point for many models.

Audi has also now reduced it's cycle - down to about 5.5-6 years to new models, and split that for refreshes.

Vijay

There is a lot I don't quite understand about Audi when it comes to performance. BMW and Mercedes make their performance models so readily available. Why do we have to wait for S and RS models for instance.

markcincinnati

Simplistic succinct answer: Marketing!

Is it literally true that BMW and Merc bring out the low, medium, and high-performance models simultaneously?

markcincinnati

The economics of Audi used to be (probably not so anymore) that the A4 was the company's moneymaker. If you bring out the S4 literally at the same time as the A4, for instance, the lights will likely shine brightest on the S4, which, although important, just doesn't sell the numbers like the A4. So, you bring out your A4 -- alone -- and the spotlight (at least for a while) is on it. All the marketing in all the channels (and all of the road tests in THE magazines of note) can be focused on the A4. Then the RS's which will certainly get a lot of buzz (but not many sales) can be released sometime after the S version has been on the market for perhaps a year. I think there really is a method to what might appear to be a progression of announcements madness. Today, perhaps, the "it" car in the lineup is probably the Q5. The SQ5 v Q5 must be even less of a volume vehicle than the S4 v A4. And, the RSQ5 will probably be even more of a curiosity -- and a low volume seller.

When all is said and done, these vehicle manufacturers must operate and introduce products in ways that maximize revenue and income. Perhaps -- and I say this not knowing -- if BMW brings out its top-power regular line 3's and its M3's coincidental with the "regular" 3 series, they "know their market" and that approach works for them. Audi has continued to increase its footprint with the approach (for example) of bringing out the A4, S4, and RS4 in that order with some time period between the announcements. Either it has worked for them or they perceive -- at the top levels of the organization -- that it is the most prudent approach.