Audi S4
Acceleration from a standstill to takes 5.1 seconds for the saloon with manual gearbox, the Avant one tenth of a second slower at 5.2 seconds. The same dash to 100 km/h in the saloon with S tronic takes 5.3 seconds, and the Avant at 5.4 seconds. The top speed is electronically limited to . However, a comparison in the American automotive magazine "Road & Track" showed the sprint from 0 to 60 mph in only 4.5 seconds for the 6-speed manual transmission. With figures like these, the B8 S4 accelerates more quickly than its V8-engined predecessors. Audi of America claims that the version of the S4 achieves 28 highway miles per gallon, and a 0 to acceleration time of 4.9 seconds with the manual transmission and 5.1 seconds with the S tronic. Fuel consumption is rated at a combined . Therefore, the B8 S4, unlike the V8-powered B6/7 models, avoids the US gas guzzler tax. The B8 S4's 3.0 TFSI engine also gets only 1 m.p.g. less than the base 2.0 TFSI engine. This is one of the most important reasons for Audi to downsize their engines, while keeping the output equivalent better, by using forced-induction such as supercharging or turbocharging.
Audi S4
Like its regular A4 counterpart, all S4 variants have had longitudinally oriented, front-mounted engines. A single turbocharged 2.2-litre inline five-cylinder powered the original C4 version, and a 2.7-litre twin turbocharged V6 engine was found in the B5 generation. The B6 and B7 versions shared a common 4.2-litre V8 engine, the first time that a V8 engine was placed in a compact executive car, placing it in direct competition with the BMW M3 which at the time had a 3.2 L inline 6. The B8 generation uses a supercharged 3.0-litre V6 TFSI engine and competes with the BMW 335i. The recently introduced B9 generation is powered by a turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 TFSI engine, as opposed to a supercharger like in the previous iteration.