Saturday, 12^thof April 2008: It was time to define a new standard in the important midsize car segment and Audi has answered this challenge with the new Audi A4 saloon. Ets. F. A. Kettaneh S.A gathered clients, friends and the members of the press for the long-awaited launch of the new Audi A4. The event took place in Audi’s showroom at Mar Mikhael and lasted over three full days. Every visitor had the chance to test drive the new Audi A4 and experience first hand why the company chose the claim “No more Compromises.� for the market launch.

The new Audi A4 saloon is making its entrance confidently with a strong, sporty design and an innovative technical concept. From the start, the new Audi A4 saloon will offer many technologies adopted directly from the large luxury class. The Audi drive select, which changes the driving characteristics of the Audi A4 at the touch of a button ranging from sporty to comfortable, is in a revolutionary move by the manufacturer first introduced in the new Audi A4 rather than in the top of the range Audi A8 or Q7. Comprehensive standard equipment and many custom extras allow customers to fully personalise their Audi A4 saloon without any compromises. Overall – both emotionally and rationally – the new Audi A4 saloon is an excellent basis for the German premium car manufacturer to expand their foothold in the Middle East also in the smaller segments.

Equipment

Audi equips its new saloon model with various high-tech systems that have so far been available only on luxury cars. These include standard LED daytime running lights, three-zone automatic air conditioning, front seats with lumbar support function and seat ventilation, the MMI operating system, the bit less intelligent key, which stores the vehicles service information, as well as the Bang & Olufsen sound system. To move safely from one lane to the next Audi introduces the Audi side assist, as well the Audi parking system advanced with rear-view camera to provide support when parking the car. Two innovative new technologies add even greater fascination to the driving experience: the “Audi drive select� control system allows the driver can adjust the operating characteristics of the engine, automatic transmission, steering and adaptive damping to suit his or her own preferences. The other is Audi dynamic steering, which controls the effective steering ratio according to road speed and acts together with the ESP to stabilise the car when close to the handling limits.

Body

With its expressive, taut and dynamic design and the high precision and technical character of its styling the new Audi A4 confirms Audi’s leading position in this field. Compared with the previous model, the designers have altered the proportions to create a new, sporty impression. The front overhang is shorter, the bonnet and wheelbase distinctly longer. At an overall length of 4.70 metres, the new A4 is a large saloon and boasts a substantial, powerful road presence. Its body illustrates the technical progress that has been made: it is significantly more rigid and safer than the previous model, but also distinctly lighter, thanks to intelligent weight-saving. With a drag coefficient of CD = 0.27, the new saloon cuts its way through the wind with ease, and its 480-litre boot is larger than that of any of its direct competitors. Inside the new A4, the ambience is spacious and full of light, as would be expected in a much larger model. It embodies the traditional Audi strengths: a distinguished appearance, no-compromise high-quality workmanship with close attention to detail and logical, intuitive controls

Engines

The new Audi A4 is being launched with a choice of two refined, powerful engines both of them using the FSI direct fuel injection principle. The 1.8 TFSI with 160 bhp is equipped with a multitronic continuously variable transmission and front wheel drive. The 3.2 FSI V6 quattro with 265 bhp comes with tiptronic automatic transmission and an even more dynamic, rear-biased quattro four-wheel drive. With their smooth running and impressive flow of power, the engines in the new A4 are a source of pure driving pleasure. For the new Audi A4, the differential as well as front axle have been moved further forward allowing ideally balanced axle loads and the dynamic suspension is a totally new development. Thanks to the use of numerous aluminium components, the suspension, steering, wheels and brakes are exceptionally light in weight