I understand that the torque vectoring sport differential ONLY offered on the 2010 S4 here in Vaspucciland is offered on the lesser A4's in other countries (the fatherland, e.g.)

Knowing, as I do, that this option must have some profit in it for Audi, I can only assume that the reason NOT to bring it to the US on these children of a lesser god, is due to AoA's prediction of minimal interest.

Perhaps Audi notes the limited number of SLines (we have two dealerships in Cincinnati and I have yet to see an '09 A4 Sline and the only sport package equipped version was Kevin's -- and he's from Columbus), the limited dealer or customer ordered A4's with the sport package and the very limited A4's configured with ADS as reasons to not offer the sport differential as an option on anything but a balls to the wall S4.

Funny thing, SH-AWD (Acura's version of torque vectoring, but in 95% FWD biased all-wheel-drive vehicles) can be had on several relatively low performance models -- and there is where, to me, this technology makes the most sense.

The S4 is already very capable of starting, stopping and handling -- arguably moreso (better, better, better) than even a tarted up Sline A4. So why not offer up an honest to god driving, handling and safety advance for the whole damn lineup, rather than the very limited, high-zoot, higher buck models in the S4 line?

Marketing?

Customer interest must be, er, yawning to get a crack at some genuinely great technology. If offered, at the time, I would have had it already on my lesser god-child A4 2.0T 19" sport quattro.

There 'tis, very low demand, poking its lonely head up.

What a world, what a world.

Course, I remember when you had to buy a 7 series BMW to get ABS! So, I shouldn't be surprised.

But I am.

Probably to keep things uniques and special. Maybe AoA wants to see how the US enthusiasts beat this up and see if ti will hold up well in the US market then make it available for regular consumption.

I'm piping up to say that I have an 09 A4 Sline and live in Cincinnati. I know I'm a non-entity to you, just sayin' ;)

But I think that makes your point. When I picked mine up from TAC, a guy in service said I was the only S-line that had come in. I asked my dealer if he'd seen any others sold, and he hadn't - several Prestige packages, a rare few Prestiges with Sport, but no other Slines.

If I desired a feature available in Europe I would order the parts from a German dealer and install them. I wanted folding mirrors, so I bought the motor and switch bits, and now I can look back at my car in the parking lot at Dodger Stadium and know that I have locked the doors.

In Europe Audi's are sold ala-carte because people order their cars rather than drop by a dealer and pick one out to drive away. Contrast that to the US where some dealers have several hundred units in stock. When you need to carry inventory the variety of units falls to those that most drivers buy. Smaller dealers in the US still take orders because their inventory is so thin they appeal to only a small slice of the buyers.

Audi in Europe knows that if they don't offer many items as stand alone options, buyers will beat feet to a dealer of another brand that will take an ala-carte order.

Pound for pound Europeans pay more for their cars than those sold in the US. A buyer who wants an 18" wheel with cloth seats can be serviced because Audi knows he is stretching his budget as it is, and he might not buy if Leather was pushed at him.

Hopefully it will only be two weeks then I can show you my very "ala-carte" MY2010 A4 ;)

With regards the differential - even in Europe (at least in the UK) the sport diff was only on the S4 until very recently. Now it's available on the 3.2 (still a current model here) and also the 3.0 TDI. i.e. they're keeping it exclusive to the V6 models.

Hehe well this is crazy me talking... dunno why, but i'm more attracted to the 2.0T then the 3.0T (should be S instead of T for SUPERCHARGED... but hey!) more things to play with and change on that 2.0T.

As per the differential. I'm sure stasis will come up (or someone) with a different differential. I watched the Stasis\APR series on youtube and the bone stock A4 got a center diff swap with a 4:1 instead of a 2:1 (if my memory serves me). I'm not going to get into it... but an A4 is well capable of hitting S territory. (will cost you some cash...) I figured that since I would probably replace exhaust, suspension and mod some components on the brakes... I would get an A4. I already have people with funny looking lights on their roofs following me with 130ish HP... i'm going to get in big trouble with a chipped A4 anyways!

Kind of unlucky here... an S4 packaged up the same way as an Sline is something around 17k more. No negotiating, crappy rates + taxes puts it well over 25k more $ then the A4 sline. I'm going to save my pennies for the RS! :P

You made my point: there are "virtually no" A4 SLines and I only know of two Prestige Sport Package equipped cars, and one of them is from Columbus. It is not that you are a non-entity, it is that your car is, practically speaking, invisible. Have you ever seen another one here in Cincinnati? Have you even seen a Prestige with the 19" sport package other than perhaps a picture of mine?

The sport and SLine packages TRANSFORM the A4 from great to exceptional -- and, speaking of the sport package, at least -- is a stone cold bargain. The styling bits of the SLine, too, are high value -- and I do see fancy schmanzy wheels on BMW's (which show up as $3495 options) every single day I traverse I71.

Audi buyers must not find the performance and appearance bits to have either much merit or value -- or the dealers feed this notion by stocking damn few versions that appeal to the, er, Bimmer crowd, if you get my drift.

Go to the AC and ask to test drive an SLine A4 or even an A4 with the sport package -- damn near impossible, if not entirely so. I have simply never seen another one, other than Kevin's (and, as noted, he is from Columbus -- 100 miles away.)

Let me check off Audi Sport Differential without being forced into an S4 -- eh? "Sorry, you've been discontinued due to lack of interest."

Thanks for playing.

"I'll get you my little pretty!" -- wicked witch in WoO

Yeah, @markcincinnati

Even over there across the pond it's a very limited option. Who knows though, Stasis might make an LSD for the B8, just food for thought though.

Technically, just in case and for clarification, the Audi-Sport-differential is a torque vectoring diff, not, per se, a limited slip differential.

That is, and I hate to say it this way, the ASD is Audi's Super-Handling All Wheel Drive in that the ASD apportions and directs the torque available to a rear wheel as is needed to correct for either over or under steer.

A mere limited slip differential it ain't.

Audi (and I belive BMW on the X6) provide a rear wheel drive biased layout with a rear diff that, for example, sends extra torque (twisting force) to the outer wheel when the car is taking a corner and understeer is detected.

So, for illustrative purposes, the outer rear wheel (the right rear when the turn attempted is a left turn or curve, e.g.) is provided with an extra turning force which counteracts the front end's tendency to "push."

The marketing literature goes so far as to suggest in a case like this, "understeer is effectively banished."

Now, Audi, too, have coupled this rwd biased AWD car with ASD and ADS (wonder if they did that TLA pairing on purpose) -- further improving the road worthiness of the vehicle.

Me being a big cry-baby, I want to have this on my 2.0T Prestige, ADS sport package equipped A4!

Not, that I am LITERALLY willing to get rid of my 10 month old baby, yet!

No, it's fine. I understand what the sport differential is (I've read quite a few articles on it), but an LSD wouldn't be a bad upgrade since I have a feeling Audi probably won't make it available to the 2.0T.

I probably should've made it clear that I knew what's going on, sorry if I made you go out of your way to type all that out :P

AFAIK, the US is about 2 years behind in options compared to other countries for some stupid marketing reasons. So AoA will probably introduce DSG/S-tronic in MY2012 and torque vectoring in MY2013 or the B9. :D

Go to the AC and ask to test drive an SLine A4 or even an A4 with the sport package -- damn near impossible, if not entirely so. I have simply never seen another one, other than Kevin's (and, as noted, he is from Columbus -- 100 miles away.)

Back on my 2000 A4 I ordered the sport package and when the car came in the sales person was just astounded by how different the car behaved. But, mine was the only sport package equipped car he had ever ordered.

When I put in my order for my 2010 A4 Prestige I decided that the extra money was not really well spent on the sport package. Back in 2000, it was around $750 and made sense. But for $2000+ it makes as little sense as S-Line for me. I can add my own badging and suspension tuning for far less, although admittedly I can't do anything about the seats.

Then again, I might end up regretting this decisions. In the end, what's interesting is that not only are there very few sports/s-line's on dealers lots, but also very few Prestige. Guess we are in the minority in wanting the features/functions. But thankfully we can order what we want, although not quite to the granularity that you can in Europe which is disappointing.

I'm enjoying S-line exclusivity for as long as it lasts. I fully expect that during the last model year for the B8 A4 (before its B9 replacement arrives), Audi will "throw in" the S-line appearance package (including just the cosmetics and leaving out the meaningful suspension hardware) into some kind of silly Special or Anniversary edition.

It would be nice to be able to add ASD to a run-of-the-mill A4, but with them only offering it on V6 models across the pond, and pushing basic features like auto-dimming mirrors to Prestige level only, I'm not holding my breath.

There are two ways to get the upgrade to SPORT: #1 - SLine, #2 - 18" or 19" Sport Pacakge.

If you get the sport package you get: sport suspension, sport seats, 3 spoke leather wrapped and perforated steering wheel 19" wheels and 255 x 35 x 19" summer MAX performance tires. You do not the the almost equally expensive optics that come with the SLine designation.

The Sport Package is, if you want the TRANSFORMED version of the A4, a bargain, especially when compared to the optional wheels offered on a BMW 3 series, which are, routinely, MSRP of $3495 and regularly and frequently $2495.

I know this is a market driven decision, but it seems a pity that the dealers don't have at least one high-zoot version to test drive.

Me, well, "it don't matter to me," I always order the car the way I want it. I'll tell you what (said in my imitation southern drawl) -- I have never seen a Prestige, 19" sport package and ADS equipped A4 at our local dealers (and even tho we be a big town, or a small US city, we do have two Audi dealers and I have been to both of them).

You would think stocking two or three high-zoot models would be a way to up-sell, 'specially if you actually had the chance to drive versions of each back to back. Hell, the Cadillac dealer up the road 1/2 mile must have three of every possible flavor of CTS made and in almost any color combo you want -- for your test driving pleasure.

The Audi dealers have such puny inventories, it isn't funny!

My local dealer only has 4 in stock now. 3 are leftover 3.2s with a $42k (stupid tiny little 16" wheels), $47k, and (omg!) $50k stickers. The Denver dealers only have a few also.
I didn't even know an S-line was available until I saw photos on here.
Who knows of a dealership with a bunch of these in stock? I'll be buying a plane ticket tomorrow!

I have no confidence that there are many Audi dealers with even dozens and dozens of A4 in inventory -- our dealers may have a dozen or so based on their lots (and I think there is only ONE A4 on the show room floor.)

But, they do have a $165,000 V10 R8, schwinngggg!

But, they do have a $165,000 V10 R8, schwinngggg!

Yes I did notice that too when I was there. Thought it was quite funny so I asked the owner of TAC about it. Turns out that for them to meet some "dealership standard" they had to take it as a lesser of all evils thing.

So far no bites on it other than the sales guys wanting to drive it home all the time.

Now personally, I asked if I could use it as my loaner :D.

So what's up with THAT -- a locked up R8 is on the showroom floor, but is there a prestige or SLine A4 anywhere to be seen? They could have three $50,000 A4's all decked out with $15K left over for grins -- 'course who knows, perhaps a Cincinnati Red or Bengal will come in and plop down the dough for the R8 -- it could happen!