Audi has created a prototype Audi A5 which differs from all production versions in the fact that its basic structure is made from aluminium rather than steel.
Aluminium construction is a relatively common practice for Audi. The last two A8s have used it, so does the A8, and so did the now discontinued A2 hatchback, while the current TT Coupé and Roadster use a hybrid steel/aluminium platform.
The point about aluminium is that, though more expensive and difficult to work with than steel, it is significantly lighter. There is almost nothing about a car that doesn't improve when you lighten it, and the prototype A5 provides a good example. Fitted with a 208bhp two-litre turbo petrol engine, it weighs 1310kg, or 90kg less than its steel-based production equivalent, and its power-to-weight ratio is not far short of that of the 261bhp 3.2-litre V6.
Audi does not have definite performance figures, but the prototype is likely to be very nearly as quick as the V6. The reduced weight also means it should handle better, and be way ahead in terms of fuel economy and CO2 emissions.
Unfortunately there are no immediate plans to put it into production. Audi describes the car as "a test-bed exercise to show what's possible", but has not entirely ruled out the possibility that something like it might appear in showrooms at some point.
2009 Audi A5 Aluminum Coupe Prototype
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