Fans of the Audi brand who wish to purchase the new S4 could be in for the shock of their lives. Having spoken to a couple of dealers I now have it on good authority that the S4 will cost around R600 000 when it’s launched here in South Africa at the end of June. The S4 is based on the A4 but is more powerful, has a different interior and exterior kit and is the current performance A4 in the range.
Powered by the new 3.0-litre TFSI supercharged petrol engine, the S4 makes 245kW of maximum power and 440Nm of torque. Audi claims a 5.1 second 0 – 100km/h sprint time for the S4 sedan and 5.1 seconds for the Avant (wagon) version. Given our appalling record when it comes to buying wagons, we may or may not see the Avant in South Africa.
In Europe the S4 is priced at about €50 000 which is R575 500 today. Consider that in Germany a baseline BMW M3 sedan costs €55 400 (R638 000) and in South Africa the same car will set you back R662 500 and you might consider it a bargain. Until you realise the S4 does not compete with the M3 but it rivals the BMW 335i. That car is priced at R455 000.
Yes there is a power and torque difference of 20kW and 40Nm respectively between the S4 and the 335i, but is that worth over R145 000 odd? I can’t answer that before I drive the S4 but what I can say is that one, I hope Audi, in its pursuit for more record-breaking profits for 2009, does not end up outpricing itself out of this segment of the premium market. Two, I really hope the S4 does not have a basic price of over R600 000, that this is just bad information from normally-good sources.
After all, a R600 000 S4 means a R750 000 RS 4, which in turn means an R800 000 RS 5 Coupe and a R900 000 RS 5 Cabriolet…
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