2010 Audi A5
MSRP Range
$37,200.00
What happens if you add more aluminum and carbon fiber to an Audi A5 coupe? You’ll likely have something similar to this A5 Lightweight prototype.
Although a normal A5 uses aluminum in its front fenders, Audi engineers went ahead and replaced other body panels with new pieces fashioned from both aluminum and carbon fiber. As a result, the 2.0T test car shaves 220 pounds off a stock A5 2.0T, and Audi claims the car can return performance figures comparable to one with the 3.2-liter V6.
There are no plans on putting this lithe A5 into production, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see the use of aluminum and other featherweight materials in future production cars.
“One of our most enduring aims for the future is to reverse the weight spiral,” says Michael Dick, Audi's board member responsible for technical development. “Lightweight design is the foundation of our entire approach to improving efficiency."