ABT Sportsline reveals facelifted Audi AS4 and AS5 range

German tuning firm, ABT Sportsline has revealed their take on the newly facelifted Audi A4 and A5 range with the ABT AS4 and AS5. Sporting a fresh aero kit, the AS4 and AS5 feature an upgraded front spoiler, side skirts, fender inserts, rear skirt insert, rear spoiler and choice of 19" and 20" CR Silverlight or DR alloy wheels; a total package that ABT describes as "unobtrusively assertive." Under the hood, power ranges from 270 horsepower in the AS5 2.0 TFSI all the way to 435 hp from the S4-based AS4 3.0 TFSI. Full report after the jump.



The new ABT AS4 is sporty, assertive and chic!

Congratulations! With the launch of its very latest version, the Audi A4 turns 40! This means a full four decades of success, first for the Audi 80, then for the A4 – and ABT has been part of this success from the very beginning. “The A4 is an important car for us, too. It always
re-defines the premium standard for medium-sized cars,” says Hans-Jürgen Abt. The renowned Bavarian tuning company’s CEO is proud to be able to present the new ABT AS4 on the occasion of the series model’s fortieth anniversary: “Our AS4 is definitely state-of-the-art. It combines sportiness and assertiveness,” Hans-Jürgen Abt explains. The AS4 is a most dependable car in every situation. But it also means sheer pleasure!

In terms of better performance, ABT Sportsline always provides balanced packages that are fully geared to the respective car and the requirements of the owner. An ABT is always a dynamic vehicle, and for its whole life at that! And what the engineers came up with for the new AS4 has been mercilessly endurance-tested, of course. The figures read as follows. ABT POWER lends the top model 435 hp (320 kW), up from the original V6 petrol engine’s 333 hp (245 kW): this fast ABT only needs 4.8 seconds to go to 100 km/h from a standstill and is very torquey indeed, with a top speed of 282 km/h. And the 3.0 TDI is a real fierce car: In its ABT POWER version, the turbo diesel engine shows 282 hp or 207 kW (serial version: 245 hp/180 kW). Its torque is 560 Nm, up from 500 and certainly enough for every situation. And the “little” four-cylinder version, the 2.0 TFSI, has also undergone an ABT POWER treatment. Up from 211 hp (155 kW), the petrol engine now shows 275 hp (202 kW). Whatever engine you may want to buy, you will always get a lot of added sportiness and agility.

And of course you will always be able to tell a true ABT from a less powerful car. That was so 40 years ago and it also applies to the new AS4. ABT has developed body parts that underscore the car’s character and make it self-confident and dynamic but without seeming arrogant, as it were. The front air dam is fully in line with the striking lights of the AS4, almost pressing the car down onto the road. This sporty approach is continued by the ABT Sportsline designers in the side sills and wing inserts. Aerofoils, rear apron inserts and the two two-pipe exhaust systems round off this very, very sporty – and stylish – car’s design. And last but not least, there are the ABT alloy wheels: Be it CR Silverlight or DR – they are all perfect for the new ABT AS4. Needless to say, they are also available in combination with high-speed tyres. After all, the AS4’s success story is to be continued – on blacktop!



Sporty elegance – the new ABT AS5

The A5 is a fast coupe and a comfortable travel companion to begin with. But in its
ABT Sportsline version this extravagant car is even more sporty. The latest edition of the ABT AS5 combines a precise and harmonious design with dynamic technology. “For us, it was important to combine this car’s extraordinary design with our ideas and thus to underscore the car’s character. Its increased performance and its body parts form a unit”, says Hans-Jürgen Abt. The traditional Bavarian company’s managing director is very excited about this automobile. “If you look at the AS5, you want to take in every inch of its marvellous silhouette, and if you sit in it, all you want is to get it on the road. This coupé is really a power pack.“

This sports car in its “tailor-made suit” is so much fun to drive because it has undergone a real ABT Sportsline treatment. The car is always assertive and second to none: ABT POWER turns the 3.0l diesel engine from its original 245 hp (180 kW) to a torquey 300 hp (221 kW). For the 2.0 TFSI, it is a dynamic 270 hp or 199 kW (original version: 211 hp/155 kW). Other engine variants are being developed and will be presented at a later stage.

To be sure, this additional ABT POWER also has to be put on the road. So a lowered suspension has been geared to the AS5, which make for a very effective lowering of the car’s centre of gravity – in visual terms, too. This is part of the overall design concept. Front spoiler, side skirts, fender inserts, rear skirt insert, rear spoiler and the typical four-pipe exhaust system make the chic ABT appear unobtrusively assertive from wherever you look at it. As an ideal complementary feature, ABT recommends the CR Silverlight or DR alloy wheels. Depending upon your taste, they will underscore either the new ABT AS5’s sportiness or its elegance. And in visual terms they are fully in line with the sport braking system, which is available with discs of 345 or 380mm in diameter.

The new ABT AS5 has been developed by the globally largest tuner of cars produced by the Volkswagen Group, with its designers and engineers making no compromises. After all, what driver of this unique coupe would want to make compromises? “They want a maximum of automotive sophistication, dynamism, roadworthiness, design and assertiveness”, Hans-Jürgen Abt says. So the new AS5 is a benchmark five times over!

Source: ABT Sportsline