Audi A4: five generations of the B-series

The Audi A4 is a compact executive car sold from 1994 to 2024, when the name passed to the A5 B10. Its five generations carried on the internal numbering of the Audi 80, from the B5 to the B9, as a saloon, an Avant estate and, for two generations only, a cabriolet.

Audi A4 at a glance

History of the Audi A4

B5 (1994)

The first A4, internally the Typ 8D, replaced the Audi 80 in 1994 and took the next letter of its B numbering. It was shown in October 1994, production began in November and European sales opened in January 1995; North America followed in September 1995. The car used the Volkswagen Group B5 (PL45) platform, shared with the fourth-generation Passat, with a front-mounted longitudinal engine and front-wheel drive or quattro four-wheel drive. The saloon came first; the Avant estate was added in November 1995 and reached showrooms in February 1996.

Development had begun in 1988, the exterior design by Imre Hasanic was chosen by 1991 and the interior was finalised in 1992. The A4 was the first model in the Volkswagen Group to use the new 1.8-litre 20-valve engine with five valves per cylinder, both naturally aspirated and as the 150 PS 1.8T; a quattro GmbH edition of the 1.8T raised output to 180 PS. Audi also introduced its tiptronic automatic on this platform, a torque-converter gearbox with manual selection based on the unit Porsche had developed for the 964-generation 911.

B6 and B7

The second and third generations kept the saloon and Avant and added a cabriolet. Although they carry different generation letters, the B7 was in practice a deep restyling of the B6, which is why the two share the same internal project code for each body style. The open car left the range after the B7: from the B8 the cabriolet, together with a new coupé and a five-door liftback, was moved into a separate nameplate, the Audi A5.

B8 and B9

The B8 and B9 generations moved to the Volkswagen Group MLB platform, shared with other models and brands of the group, and the A4 remained a saloon and Avant only. The line ended with the B9: in 2024 Audi presented the B10 A5, which replaced both the A4 B9 and the A5 under a naming scheme in which even numbers are reserved for electric models.

Design and features

• Five-valve engine: the 1.8 20v was the first five-valve unit in the Volkswagen Group, and five-valve heads were added to the V6 family from 1997.
• tiptronic: Audi’s first tiptronic automatic, derived from the Porsche 964 gearbox, appeared on the B5.
• Front suspension: a high double-wishbone layout with a virtual steering axis was used from the first generation and kept through all five.

Audi A4 versions

• 1.8T: the turbocharged five-valve four with 150 PS and 210 N·m, or 180 PS and 235 N·m in the quattro GmbH edition.
• 2.8 V6 30v: 193 PS, replacing the 2.8 12-valve at the 1998 facelift; the 2.4 V6 took over from the 2.6 with 165 PS.
• 2.5 V6 TDI: 150 PS, standard on the quattro at the 1998 facelift.
• S4: from the 1998 facelift the S4 became part of the A4 range; the previous S4 had been based on the Audi 100.
• RS4: almost always an Avant; the B7 version was also sold as a saloon and a cabriolet, and there was no RS4 on the B6.
• DTM car: a silhouette racer with a tubular frame, carbon bodywork and a 4.0 V8 of 460 PS, raced from 2004 to 2011.

More Audi models are in our Audi collection: the A3, the A6 and the A5, which took over the A4’s cabriolet and coupé roles.

Video: Audi A4 B6 1.8T quattro – acceleration 150hp

Video by ultraast on YouTube.

Sources

• Audi A4, English Wikipedia: B5 development, engines and facelift
• Audi 80/A4, German Wikipedia: production years and German registrations
• Audi A4, Italian Wikipedia: generations, S4 and RS4, motorsport