Dynasties are really only defined after they’re over. We still talk about the British Empire, the original Star Wars trilogy, and BMW sport sedans of the 1990s and early 2000s. Not because their reigns lasted forever, but because they ended, giving way to forgettable mediocrity.
But when one dynasty falters, it often passes the torch to another. In BMW’s case, around 2007, that torch went straight into the open arms of an eagerly awaiting Audi. Over the next decade and a half, Audi would go on an absolute tear, recording an unbelievable 100 consecutive months of US sales growth and transforming itself from a sort of German Volvo or Saab to a first-tier luxury name. Then, unable to escape the woes of its Volkswagen parentage or step out of the shadow of the favored sibling Porsche, it too would falter.
Two cars bookend Audi’s ascendance: the first-generation R8, and the RS6 Avant. The R8 was a properly fresh halo car, a mid-engine bombshell with an 8,250-rpm redline. It had Lamborghini bones but the svelte lines and aggressive side blades were entirely its own. In an interview last year with The Drive, R8 designer Frank Lamberty called the original car “the definition of a German supercar.” Iron Man drove one, for God’s sake. Meanwhile, BMW was busy dividing its fanbase with Bangle flame surfacing, and Mercedes was riffing on the tried-and-true Gullwing formula with the SLS AMG—pretty, but hardly revolutionary.
It’s easy to waste effort on a halo car if it writes checks the rest of the lineup can’t cash. Imagine the disappointment a 1990s Dodge customer would feel, drawn to the showroom by the magnetic pull of a Viper and then handed the keys to a Stratus. But Audi didn’t fall into this trap either. With the R8 on the way, it worked quickly under the direction of Walter de Silva to build a cohesive design language across the entire model lineup. Gone were the upbadged VW products. In its place: sleek exteriors, large trapezoidal grilles, and high-quality interiors became hallmarks of the brand, from A4 to Q7. The brand even popularized LED daytime running lights and flat (Nardo) gray paint as industry-wide trends.
While Audi invested in its lineup, a couple of hours south in Munich, BMW was hard at work cutting costs. It replaced the misunderstood, technically brilliant E60 5 Series with the handsome but soulless F10, and the F30 3 Series was so underwhelming that BMW M gave the M3 variant its own chassis code to reflect the many changes it took to make it M-worthy. (Shortly after this, it started tacking the M badge onto every non-M car in its lineup.) And the i8 hybrid eco-supercar, while admirable for its gumption, was a flop. On the engine front, Audi’s EA888 four-cylinder and supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 became stout and tunable, while BMW’s early efforts at turbocharged direct injection were troubled at best.
But when one dynasty falters, it often passes the torch to another. In BMW’s case, around 2007, that torch went straight into the open arms of an eagerly awaiting Audi.
The hard work paid off. From October 2009 through March 2018, Audi’s US sales grew every single month. That type of sustained growth is unheard of, and Audi did it with cars that were still closely related to their VW counterparts underneath. Audi had climbed the mountain.
It was time to celebrate. Since the B5 RS4 of the early 2000s, four-ring diehards had been begging Audi to bring its hot wagons stateside. We got a couple of V-8 S4 Avants in the aughts, but fast wagons were thought all but dead in the US when Audi announced it would bring the 591-hp RS6 Avant here in 2021. It had asserted its place in the mainstream, and this one was for the fans.
But trouble was already brewing. Blowback and budget cuts from Dieselgate affected the entire VW umbrella, but hit particularly hard at Audi, which couldn’t match VW’s volume or Porsche’s profitability and brand recognition. After two generations, the R8 died in 2023 with a whimper. Outside of the RS6, RSQ8, and the tamer A6 Allroad, Audi’s lineup today consists of a few nice but unmemorable electric crossovers with seemingly zero marketing dollars behind them.
Last Fall, the company offered $20,000 off its E-Tron GT, a handsome flagship EV that’s closely related to the Porsche Taycan but, again, poorly marketed. Audi claims three places in the bottom 15 worst-selling cars of 2024 thus far. Even the S5 just isn’t that fun anymore. Yikes.
At the same time, BMW’s EVs are pretty good, actually, and while its styling isn’t for everyone, that may change. Hyundai’s first performance EV is kick-ass. If anyone’s doing the Audi thing today in terms of styling and quality, it’s probably the Koreans—but who’s to say they won’t be leapfrogged by a Chinese brand?
In any case, Audi’s reign is over. It’s too soon to know who will come next, so for now we’ll just look back and say: Damn. What a run.
