Audi S4: from the Audi 100 S4 to the B9

The Audi S4 is the high-performance version of the A4. The first S4 of 1991 was based on the Audi 100, and every later generation from 1997 has followed the A4, with a more powerful engine, bigger brakes, firmer suspension and standard Torsen quattro.

Audi S4 at a glance

History of the Audi S4

C4 (1991)

Factory production of the original S4, usually called the Audi 100 S4, began in August 1991; the car had been shown at the Barcelona show in May and replaced the Audi 200 turbo quattro 20V. It is known as the Ur-S4 and was based on the C4 platform of the Audi 100. The engine was a 2.2-litre 20-valve turbocharged five with 230 PS and 350 N.m, enough for 100 km/h in 6.2 seconds with the five-speed manual. A 4.2-litre V8 with 280 PS was available from October 1992 with the six-speed manual only. Ayrton Senna, Audi’s importer in Brazil, drove a silver V8 Avant. When the 100 became the A6 in 1994 the S4 was renamed S6, and production ended in July 1994; 15,928 cars were built, including 1,988 with the V8.

B5 to B7

The S4 returned in 1997 on the B5 platform of the new A4, with a 2.7-litre biturbo V6 and an Avant version from 1998; production ended in September 2001. The B6 of 2003 brought a 4.2-litre V8, the first V8 in a compact executive car, and a cabriolet from February 2004. The B7 arrived at the end of 2004 with the same V8 tuned to 344 PS, a single-frame grille, quad exhausts and, from 2007, a Torsen T-3 centre differential with a 40:60 default split on manual cars.

B8 and B9

The B8 went into production in November 2008 on the MLB platform with a supercharged 3.0 V6 TFSI and an Eaton compressor, and was offered only as a saloon and an Avant, because the open S4 became the Audi S5 Cabriolet. An optional sport differential was new to this generation. The B9 used a turbocharged 3.0 V6 TFSI; with the new naming scheme the sporting version of the A5, which replaced the A4, has been sold as the S5 since 2024.

Design and features

• quattro: every S4 has Torsen-based permanent four-wheel drive as standard.
• V8 first: the B6 and B7 put a V8 into a compact executive car for the first time, against the BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C32 AMG.
• Brakes: the C4 20V used the 310 mm UFO discs, and the V8 had 314 mm front and 269 mm ventilated rear discs.
• Torsen T-3: the B7 of 2007 moved to a 40:60 default torque split on manual cars.
• B8 engine: the supercharged 3.0 V6 replaced the V8 and came with an optional sport rear differential.

Audi S4 versions

• C4 2.2 20V turbo: 230 PS and 350 N.m, five- or six-speed manual.
• C4 4.2 V8: 280 PS from October 1992, six-speed manual only.
• B5 2.7 biturbo: the V6 of 1997, with an Avant from 1998.
• B6 and B7 4.2 V8: 344 PS in the B7, with a cabriolet in both generations.
• B8 3.0 TFSI: supercharged V6, saloon and Avant only.
• B9 3.0 TFSI: turbocharged V6, the last S4 before the S5 name.

The S4 is the sporting version of the Audi A4 and shares its V8 history with the Audi A6 line; more models are in our Audi collection.

Video: Audi S4 Avant 4.2 Quattro -04

Video by Pär Martinsson on YouTube.

Sources

• Audi S4, English Wikipedia: C4 and later generations, engines, Torsen
• Audi S4, German Wikipedia: C4 production numbers, prices, Senna’s car
• Audi S4, Italian Wikipedia: B5 to B9 dates and power outputs