Tuesday 22nd March 2011

Audi A9: Will It Be A Coupe?

Ingolstadt's 2014 flagship set to take on Mercedes CL

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Audi's forthcoming flagship model - expected to be called the A9 - will be a massive two-door coupe, at least according to reports in the German press.

German car mag Auto Bild says that the new car will be a five-metre coupe based on the A8, but with a more luxurious interior.

Due to go on sale in 2014, there will be two versions of the A9, say the Germans - a pillarless coupe version, and a fully convertible model, most likely with a fabric roof rather than a retractable hard-top.

The car looks set to take on the Mercedes CL, and possibly even the Porsche Panamera (though not too directly, we presume), and will be priced from around 80,000 euros (£70k).

[Munich]

And the point of this model being?

[Munich]

fatboy b said:

Munich said:

And the point of this model being?

Wild guess, but

"Ingolstadt's 2014 flagship set to take on Mercedes CL"

And the point of the MB CL is?

[Munich]

fatboy b said:

Munich said:

fatboy b said:

Munich said:

And the point of this model being?

Wild guess, but

"Ingolstadt's 2014 flagship set to take on Mercedes CL"

And the point of the MB CL is?

Just because you can't afford one, or don't like them, doesn't mean other people can't/don't.

You are right, I can't afford one and maybe that makes me blind to their appeal. I worked at R-R for a number of years and my initial feeling towards the Phantom was similar as it is towards the CL/A9, but over time and getting the opportunity to drive the Phantom on numerous occasions, including blasts across Europe, I did start to convince myself that everyone needed a car like this and if I had a couple of million pounds lying around I would be at the front of the queue to buy one. I don't know when I would use it, but that didn't matter. I have since moved on from R-R but I still have regular exposure to cars like the CL and I still don't see the point to them. For some reason I really like the old SEC but the CLs have just been plain ugly, have no style, too big and don't offer any additional benefit over the sedan versions on which they are based. Considering that their sales volumes are very low and their depreciation curves are incredibly steep, I assume I'm not a lone in thinking this.

[Munich]

Mermaid said:

Zod said:

"4wd is superior"?

You're going to have to justify that rather extraordinary claim.

Would you have opted for a 2wd X5 it it was available?

It's horses for courses.

Why not? Enough people seem to buy 2wd SUVs so if a 2wd X5 was offered it may well be very popular. After all, the BMW X1 is offered with 2wd.

[Munich]

ZesPak said:

So sales numbers and depreciation curves determine whether a car is any good/should exist?
God, and I love a Phaeton. BTW, how are the sales numbers and resale values of a Phantom?

If sales numbers and resale values are all that matters, we should all be driving 3-series and focus'.

The sales numbers of the Phantom were very good, and still are very good considering it's lifecycle phase. RV's were also very good but I don't know how it is performing now.

However, going back to my original post, what I mean is that the market for these cars is very small. For the additional couple of thousand units Audi will sale when offering this model, is it worth the effort? I would have thought it better to allocate their resources to developing the next generation A4 or A3. It is not as if they need a halo car, they already have the R8 and a very successful Le Mans racing program. Referencing of residual values was simply to emphasize that even with small volumes the RVs are still terrible meaning that there simply isn't strong demand for such cars regardless of how good they are.

I'm all for diversity and choice in the motor industry (I still wish Volvo would offer a car like the 780, or Fiat the 130 Coupé), but it still doesn't mean Audi's decision is a good one.