Audi drops top on sexy new A5 Cabriolet

Audi has today unveiled full details of the new A5 Cabriolet, its direct rival to BMW's best-selling 3 Series Convertible.

Unlike BMW's latest folding hardtop equipped car, Audi has opted for a traditional fabric roof on the A5, which saves weight and takes up less space when stowed than a rigid top does. Buyers will have the option to specify an 'acoustic top', which reduces noise levels further.

Audi says that the new top can be retracted fully in just 15 seconds, though it takes two seconds longer to close again. It's a fully automatic process and even with the roof down, there is 320-litres of luggage space in the boot.

A range of seven engines will power the new Cabriolet, from a 158bhp 1.8-litre TFSI petrol, through two V6 turbodiesels and a petrol V6 while a supercharged V6 will be found under the bonnet of the range-topping S5 Cabriolet.

The S5 has 329bhp and 325lb.ft of torque at its disposal, so unsurprisingly, quattro four-wheel drive is standard, as is a seven-speed, dual-clutch, S tronic transmission.

Four-wheel drive and the S tronic gearbox are optional across the rest of the range, while the Cabriolet is also the first car to receive Audi's new sport differential following its introduction in the driver-focused S4.

Prices have yet to be announced, but expect to pay a premium over the equivalent A5 coupé, which should also receive the new engine and transmission options when the Cabriolet is shown at the Geneva Show in March.

Shane O' Donoghue