[s-cars] Why S4?

[Emre Washburn]

The S2 had it's first model year as '91, but were actually first built
in '90. Since we are guessing at the origin of "S4", I would think
that it was Audi's way of telling us this was a special version car,
based on the C4 chassis, making it an S4. Then when Audi decided to
update the 100 to an A6, keeping the name S4, while having an A6 just
sounds stupid so they named the new S and S6. My $0.02


-- 
Emre
92 //S4
90 Cq
40 valves to many!


On Wed, 5 Jan 2005 08:17:24 -0500, Bob Rossato <bob.rossato at att.net> wrote:
> The S4 was just a progression in the "Sport" cars and was not based on
> any specific body style.  It started with the S1, which was a racing
> version of the UrQ.  Then came the S2 in '92 which was based on 80/90
> body style.  While most people think of the S2 as a coupe, it was also
> available based on the sedan and avant versions of the 80/90.  The S4
> was also introduced in '92.  It was my understanding that at the time
> Audi was also planning an S3 (Maybe based on the '90-'94 V8?  Just a
> guess.) but that never materialized (keep in mind the A3 didn't exist
> yet), which is why it skipped between the S2 and the UrS4.  At least
> that's what I heard.  Someone with better history can correct this.
> Once the model nomenclatures changed to the current A3, A4, etc, the S
> car names were no longer a progression and just aligned with the
> specific chassis.
> 
> Bob
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com
> > [mailto:s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com] On Behalf Of Kris Pruden
> > Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2005 12:49 AM
> > To: s-car-list at audifans.com
> > Subject: [s-cars] Why S4?
> >
> >
> > I found myself wondering about the name "S4" the other day, and though
> > that someone here would probably know the answer to my question.
> >
> > My question is: how did Audi come up with the name S4?  I know that
> > the model on which the UrS4 is based was labeled the 100, and the
> > smaller sedan the 90.  In '95 they switched to the A4/A6 names, so the
> > change to S6 in '95 makes sense to me.  But why S4?  I'm pretty sure
> > the S is for "Sport."  Is the 4 for 4 doors? 4-wheel drive?  Am I way
> > off?  Perhaps I'm overanalyzing and the Audi marketing folks just
> > though S4 looked cool.
> >
> > Does anyone know?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Kris
> 
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