Will it be priced as the 3 series coupe? (35-45k) loaded or more like the CLK coupe (45-55k).

At 38-46k base and under 48k loaded it will be a hit, if base is north of 46k and loaded, north of 50k not too sure.

And remember, no more free service visits.

AoA's stupidity is enormous when it comes to pricing and configurations, so I would not be 100% surprised if they only import slushbox V6s and V8s, and price it waaaaay over the 3 series coupe.

Here is how they SHOULD price it:
A5 3.2q: base around $35K, nicely equipped for $38K.
A5 4.2q: base around $39K, nicely equipped for $44K.

Lets look at this from a model lineup perspective.

Loaded A4 3.2 Currently around $48k
Loaded A6 3.2 Currently around $58k
<b>So a loaded A5 3.2 should be around $53k</b>

Loaded S4 Currently around $52k
Loaded A6 4.2 Currently around $62k
<b>Loaded A5 4.2 should be around $57k</b>
Loaded S6 Currently around $76k
<b>Loaded S5 should be around $64k</b>

The A5 is a 5-series class vehicle (from what I've read). It will be priced accordingly.

So the A5 will offer BMW 328 performance at 5-series pricing.

If it is the 3.2 FSI, then it will cost you about the same price as 335i; if it is the 4.2 FSI, then it is going to cost you about the same as 550i.

The 3.2 FSI is way underpowered compared to the 335 IMO. For some reason Audi always finds a way to make thier cars heavier, slower, and less powerful than the competing BMWs. The A5 3.2 will echo that.

I wish this would not be the case, but I do suspect Audi will price this so that I am force to buy a nice manual 328 coupe for $36K.

The A4 3.2 starts in the mid 30s so I expect the A4 3.2 to start in the low 40s.

I would expect the A5 3.2 to be competitive with the 335i. By judging the power output of the 3.2, and Audi's propensity to build heavy cars (Quattro), the 335 will be able to easily beat a 3.2 A5. The performance difference between the 335 and the 3.2 Audi A5 is going to be huge. My guess is that the A5 3.2 will do 0-60 in the mid sixes, while the 335s are in the high 4's. I don't mind that the BMW outperforms the Audi (my racing days are over). But when Audi charges more money for a much slower car, then I have a problem. My experience with Audi is that you don't get any Bang-for-the-buck

I guess Audi needs the S and RS models to compete with the standard BMW models because Audi's standard models cannot. Nothing is wrong with that except that Audi prices their cars a performance level too high from what the car can actually do.

There will not be a regular A5 with the 4.2L FSI VL V8 (which, apparently, will produce 380 hp and 325 or 332 lbs/ft of torque and not the 400 hp I was hoping for). The S5 will have this engine. I would say that the 3.2L FSI VL V6 in the regular A5 will produce 280 hp and 243 or 251 lbs/ft of torque.

As for weight, I am leaning toward 3,500 pounds for the A5 3.2 coupe, 3,780 pounds for the A5 3.2 convertible, 3,610 pounds for the S5 coupe and 3,990 pounds for the S5 convertible. That should be a few hundred to several hundred pounds lighter than the current A4 3.2 and S4 convertibles.

Isn't Audi going to start using a lot of high quality weight saving metals, materials and mechanical, hydraulic, electrical, and electronic systems for their "MLP" vehicles to keep the weight and complexity down somewhat?

There wil also be seven-speed S Tronic transmissions that are far superior to the crummy five-speed and six-speed tiptronics in every conceiveable way and six-speed sticks that are far better in every conceiveable way than the six-speed sticks in the current VAG vehicles.

With FSI (fuel stratified injection; petroleum engines), CRI (common rail injection; turbodiesel engines) ValveLift and a bunch of other minor yet significant engine upgrades, peak torque should be available at 3,000 RPM or from 3,000-4,000 RPM. Peak hp at either 7,000 RPM with a 7,200 RPM redline or at 7,300 RPM with a 7,500 RPM redline.

Greater percentages of the peak hp should be available in a wider range of RPM, especially up high and close to redline. Greater percentages of the peak torque should be available in a wider range of RPM, especially down low, below 2,000 RPM.

All of the above enhancements should reduce all acceleration runs by 1.5 to 2.5 seconds, depending on the speed. And this is with 25-30 more peak hp with peak torque the same as or 7-8 lbs/ft (10 nm) higher than right now with roughly the same displacements as right now.

I believe that the new BMW 3 Series coupe is priced from $30,000 for a bare bones 328i with a six-speed stick to $55,000 for a maximally optioned 335xi with a Steptronic six-speed automatic.

I also believe that the Mercedes CLK is priced from $45,000 for a bare bones CLK350 to $65,000 for a maximally optioned CLK550.

If I am correct, then the A5 should be priced from $40,000 for a bare bones A5 3.2 with a six-speed stick to $55,000 for a maximally optioned A5 3.2 with a seven-speed S Tronic (better known as direct shift gearbox or DSG for short).

With all of the enhancements that are supposed to come with the modular longitudinal platform or MLP for short, performance of the A5 3.2 should be close to the the 335i/xi and close to or on par with the CLK350.

While performance of the S5 should be on par with the M3 in acceleration and on par with or better in all other aspects of performance. And on par with or close to the CLK63 AMG in acceleration and better or much better than the CLK63 AMG in every other aspect of performance.

For the 3 Series, CLK and A5 in the convertible bodystyles, add $5,000 to the 3 Series, CLK and A5 coupes when comparably equipped.

For the M3 and S5 coupes, add $25,000 to the 335xi and A5 3.2 coupes when comparably equipped.

For the M3 and S5 convertibles, add $5,000 to the 335xi and A5 3.2 convertibles when comparably equipped.

For the CLK63 AMG convertible, add $30,000 to the CLK550 coupe when comparably equipped. Unfortunately, Mercedes refuses to bring the CLK63 AMG to North America as they are stuck under the delusion that it will sell far too poorly on the west side of the Atlantic/east side of the Pacific.

"While performance of the S5 should be on par with the M3 in acceleration and on par with or better in all other aspects of performance. And on par with or close to the CLK63 AMG in acceleration and better or much better than the CLK63 AMG in every other aspect of performance."


- What about the standard A5 in comparison to the BMW 335? I'm of the opinion that the performance difference between the Standard 335 and the standard A5 will be huge. While the price will be about the same with the Audi being slightly more expensive. We'll see.