AUDI A4 — Specifications & VIN Lookup

About the AUDI A4

The Audi A4 is a line of luxury compact executive cars produced from 1994 to 2025 by the German car manufacturer Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. The A4 has been built in five generations and is based on the Volkswagen Group B platform. The first generation A4 succeeded the Audi 80. The automaker's internal numbering treats the A4 as a continuation of the Audi 80 lineage, with the initial A4 designated as the B5-series, followed by the B6, B7, B8, and the B9.

The Audi A4 is a line of luxury compact executive cars produced from 1994 to 2025 by the German car manufacturer Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. The A4 has been built in five generations and is based on the Volkswagen Group B platform. The first generation A4 succeeded the Audi 80. The automaker's internal numbering treats the A4 as a continuation of the Audi 80 lineage, with the initial A4 designated as the B5-series, followed by the B6, B7, B8, and the B9. The B8 and B9 versions of the A4 are built on the Volkswagen Group MLB platform shared with several models and brands across the Volkswagen Group. The Audi A4 automobile layout consists of a front-engine design, with transaxle-type transmissions mounted at the rear of the engine. The cars are front-wheel drive, or on some models, "quattro" all-wheel drive. The A4 is available as a sedan and station wagon. Historically, the second (B6) and third generations (B7) of the A4 also included a convertible version. For the B8 and B9 versions, the convertible, along with a new coupé and 5-door liftback variant, was spun-off by Audi into a new nameplate called the Audi A5. It has been manufactured in Ingolstadt since its beginning, in Changchun China by FAW-VW since 2003 and in Aurangabad India by Audi India since 2007. The B9 generation A4 and A5 will be replaced by B10 version of A5, as part of Audi's new naming convention.

B5 (Typ 8D; 1994)

The first generation Audi A4 (known internally as the Typ 8D) debuted in October 1994, with production starting November 1994 and European sales commencing in January 1995 for the 1995 model year. North American sales later began in September 1995 for the 1996 model year. It was built on the Volkswagen Group B5 (PL45) platform, which it shared with the fourth generation Volkswagen Passat (B5, Typ 3B). It had a front-mounted longitudinal engine and front-wheel drive. Many variations of the A4 were also available with Audi's quattro four-wheel drive system. The A4 was initially introduced as a four-door saloon/sedan; the Avant (estate/wagon) was introduced in November 1995 and went on sale in February 1996. Development began in 1988, with the first design sketches being created later that year. By 1991, an exterior design by Imre Hasanic was chosen and frozen for November 1994 production by 1992. The interior design was later finalized in 1992, with pilot production commencing in the first half of 1994. Development concluded in the third quarter of 1994, preceding November 1994 start of production. A wide range of engines were available in European markets, between 1.6 and 2.8 litres for petrol engines; and a 1.9-litre diesel engine available with Volkswagen Group's VE technology, capable of achieving a 90 PS (66 kW; 89 bhp) or 110 PS (81 kW; 108 bhp). The 2.6 and 2.8-litre V6 engines which had been carried over from the old 80/90 proved popular, although in North America, the 2.8-litre engine was the only V6 that was available there until 1997. A 2.4-liter version was developed especially for the Thai market, where import duty jumped from 60 to 100 percent on cars of over 2,400 cc displacement. The Audi A4 was the first model in the Volkswagen Group to feature the new 1.8-litre 20v engine with five valves per cylinder, based on the unit Audi Sport had developed. A turbocharged 1.8T version produced 150 PS (110 kW; 148 bhp) and 210 N⋅m (155 lb⋅ft) torque. Moreover, a quattro GmbH special edition of the B5 1.8T was later available in Germany and Europe, for which the engine's power output was raised to 180 PS (132 kW; 178 bhp) and 235 N⋅m (173 lb⋅ft). Five-valve technology was also added to a reengineered V6 family of engines in 1997, starting with the 2.8-litre V6 30v, which now produced 193 PS (142 kW; 190 bhp), followed by a 2.4-litre V6 which was a downsize from the previous 2.6 litre, 150 hp (112 kW) engine, but with a power increase to 165 PS (121 kW; 163 bhp). Audi also debuted their new tiptronic automatic transmission on the B5 platform, based on the unit Porsche developed for their 964-generation 911. The transmission is a conventional automatic gearbox with a torque converter offering the driver a fully-automatic operation or manual selection of the gear ratios. The B5 marked Audi's continued move into the midsize luxury car segment, having started this trajectory notably with later model years of the preceding Audi 80/90 B4. Despite initial mechanical problems, overall build and assembly quality were lauded both by the automotive press and within Audi and Volkswagen, and at the time, parent company Volkswagen declared the B5 the company-wide build quality benchmark for all its other models.