When the 2010 Audi S5 Cabriolet arrived this summer, it did so with little fanfare. It acted as if it had always been around and everything was completely ordinary.
However, this particular convertible is anything but ordinary. In a move by Audi AG, the new convertible was designed to line up the brand's coupes with its convertibles. Good bye A4 Cabriolet, hello S5 drop top.
No longer will Audi's entry convertible be based on the timid A4 styling -- it gets to take on the looks of the sharply refined A5. It's the difference between looking like George Clooney and me.
There's a standoffish coolness about this car that hints at its abilities that other drivers tend to underestimate. Its unassuming angular good looks help define the S5. Many of the other European convertible coupes have gone to hard tops while the Audi decided to use a high-tech cloth top that can fold up in under 20 seconds while the car is driving up to 30 mph. The S5 convertible meshes the past and the future, it's part Ph.D. and part old school. The S5 doesn't hide the fact its top can come down, it celebrates it.
The big grille and open intakes below the bumper aren't just there to look mean, they're there to force more air into the supercharged V-6 that will eat the competition's lunch as if they were a couple of sliders on a Friday night.
That little red S isn't just a decoration to sparkle on the door sill and steering wheel. It's Audi's equivalent of an 82nd Airborne Division patch on a soldier's right sleeve -- combat proven. It doesn't take prisoners.
The S5 convertible uses a new supercharged 3-liter V-6 that courses 333 horsepower through its veins and 325 pound-feet of torque through both axles with Audi's Quattro drive. The newest Quattro drive system allows Audi to favor the rear axle in a 60/40 power split that helps the S5 maintain its race car-like handling. This system also allows the car to manage the power from wheel to wheel in each axle and its self-locking differential can send power to whichever axle has the most traction.
The seven-speed dual clutch glides through gears effortlessly and responds to the driver's wants and needs. It can change gears in two-tenths of a second. Drive aggressively, and it will keep each gear longer, winding out the revs with mechanical precision. There is no hunting for the next gear or a hesitation between them. The S5's tranny reacts almost before you knew what you were going to do.
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