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The Audi A4 is a line of compact executive cars produced since late 1994 by the German car manufacturer Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. The A4 has been built in four generations and is based on the Volkswagen Group B platform. The first generation A4 succeeded the Audi 80. The automaker's internal numbering treats the A4 as a continuation of the Audi 80 lineage, with the initial A4 designated as the B5-series, followed by the B6, B7, B8 and the B9. The B8 and B9 versions of the A4 are built on the Volkswagen Group MLB platform shared with many other Audi models and potentially one Porsche model within Volkswagen Group. The Audi A4 automobile layout consists of a longitudinal engine front-engine design, with transaxle-type transmissions mounted at the rear of the engine. The cars are front-wheel drive, or on some models, "quattro" all-wheel drive. The A4 is available as a sedan and station wagon. The second (B6) and third generations (B7) of the A4 also had a convertible version, but the B8 version of the convertible became a variant of the Audi A5 instead as Audi got back into the compact executive coupé segment. ==B5 (''Typ'' 8D; 1994–2001)== The first generation Audi A4 (known internally as the ''Typ'' 8D) debuted in October 1994,〔http://www.autogush.com/6671-audi-a4.html#.Ucx_o_nVCK9〕 with production starting November 1994 and European sales commencing in January 1995 for the 1995 model year. North American sales later began in September 1995 for the 1996 model year. It was built on the Volkswagen Group B5 (PL45) platform, which it shared with the fourth generation Volkswagen Passat (B5, ''Typ'' 3B). It had a front-mounted longitudinal engine and front-wheel drive. Many variations of the A4 were also available with Audi's quattro four-wheel drive system. The A4 was initially introduced as a four-door saloon/sedan; the Avant (estate/wagon) was introduced in November 1995 and went on sale in February 1996. Development began in 1988, with the first design sketches being created later that year. By 1991, an exterior design by Imre Hasanic was chosen and frozen for November 1994 production by 1992. The interior design was later finalized in 1992, with pilot production commencing in the first half of 1994. Development concluded in the third quarter of 1994, preceding November 1994 start of production.〔http://www.audiworld.com/news/99/sketches/sketch7.jpg〕〔http://www.audiworld.com/news/99/sketches/sketch5.jpg〕〔http://www.audiworld.com/news/99/sketches/sketch13.jpg〕〔http://www.audiworld.com/news/99/sketches/sketch14.jpg〕 A wide range of internal combustion engines were available in European markets, between 1.6 and 2.8 litres for petrol engines; and a 1.9 litre diesel engine available with Volkswagen Group's VE technology, capable of achieving a or , although Audi's 2.8 litre V6 engine, carried over from the old 80/90 was the only engine option in North America until 1997. The Audi A4 was the first model in the Volkswagen Group to feature the new 1.8 litre 20v engine with five valves per cylinder, based on the unit Audi Sport had developed for their Supertouring race car. A turbocharged version produced and torque. This technology was added to the V6 family of engines in 1996, starting with the 2.8 litre V6 30v, which now produced . Audi also debuted their new tiptronic automatic transmission on the B5 platform, based on the unit Porsche developed for their 964-generation 911. The transmission is a conventional automatic gearbox with a torque converter offering the driver fully automatic operation or manual selection of the gear ratios. The B5 marked Audi's continued move into the midsize luxury car segment, having started this trajectory notably with later model years of the preceding Audi 80/90 B4. Despite initial mechanical problems, overall build and assembly quality were lauded both by the automotive press and within Audi and Volkswagen, and at the time, parent company Volkswagen declared the B5 the company-wide build quality benchmark for all its other models. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Audi A4」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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