Manual transmissions are already scarce due to a lack of demand and now they are about to get even more rare, since Audi has announced that the A4 and A5 will no longer be offered with a manual. To bid farewell to the manual transmission, Audi has revealed the very limited A4 Ultra Sport edition.
The Audi A4 Ultra Sport obviously comes standard with a manual transmission and it looks the part thanks to some exterior parts from the S4. The exterior gets carbon fiber mirror caps and a rear lip spoiler. The A4 Ultra Sport will only be available in Quantum Gray and it rides on 19-inch wheels with a matte titanium finish.
To give it a sportier driving experience, the A4 Ultra Sport gets dynamic steering and a sport adaptive damping suspension.
Inside the A4 Ultra Sport seats that are wrapped in leather and Alcantara, a flat bottom steering wheel, sport front seats with 4-way power lumbar, and a leatherette covered center console and armrests.
If you want one, you better act fast since Audi is only going to build 40 of A4 Ultra Sport editions.
Why did Audi decide to kill off the manual transmission in the US? Audi already doesn’t offer manual versions of the A4 and A5 in Germany, but it permitted the US and UK markets to continue to sell them if they met certain sales goals. Audi of America President Scott Keogh promised Audi AG that the manual transmission equipped versions would account for 10-12% of sales, but in reality it was much lower at only 2-3%. Given the slow sales, Audi was forced to pull the plug.
Source: Audi
