The Audi A4 was the first model in the Volkswagen Group to feature the new 1.

8-litre 20v engine

with five valves per cylinder, based on the unit Audi Sport had developed for their Supertouring race
car. A turbocharged 1.8T version produced 150 PS (110 kW; 148 bhp) and 210 N⋅m (155 lb⋅ft)
torque. Moreover, a quattro GmbH special edition of the B5 1.8T was later available in Germany and
Europe, for which the engine's power output was raised to 178 PS (131 kW; 176 bhp) and 235 N⋅m
(173 lb⋅ft). Five-valve technology was also added to a reengineered V6 family of engines in 1997,
starting with the 2.8-litre V6 30v, which now produced 193 PS (142 kW; 190 bhp), followed by a 2.4-
litre V6 which was a downsize from the previous 2.6 litre, 150 hp engine, but with a power increase
to 165 PS (121 kW; 163 bhp).
Audi also debuted their new tiptronic automatic transmission on the B5 platform, based on the
unit Porsche developed for their 964-generation 911. The transmission is a
conventional automatic gearbox with a torque converter offering the driver a fully-automatic
operation or manual selection of the gear ratios.
The B5 marked Audi's continued move into the midsize luxury car segment, having started this
trajectory notably with later model years of the preceding Audi 80/90 B4. Despite initial mechanical
problems, overall build and assembly quality were lauded both by the automotive press and within
Audi and Volkswagen, and at the time, parent company Volkswagen declared the B5 the company-
wide build quality benchmark for all its other models.