Audi to increase showroom performance focus

The popularity of Audi S and RS models will see performance models highlighted with new showroom-within-a-showroom approach.

A huge surge in the sales of its go-faster cars has spurred Audi to ride the wave with a string of new-look Australian dealerships.

It is planning a showroom-within-a-showroom look that will put its growing range of S and RS models in the spotlight.

Just as Citroen is using the S-W-S approach to highlight the flair of its DS models, Audi believes it is time to make more of its performance models and snatch some of the impact from the rival AMG and M versions at Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

The new Audi approach is still being finalised but the first showcase showroom should be open before the end of the year.

"There is a strong opportunity with S and RS. We shouldn't be so quiet about it," the managing director of Audi Australia, Andrew Doyle, tells Carsguide.

"That's really what I think we should focus on. Australians love it. I think a strong focus will work.

"We should be proud about what we've got and make more noise about it."

The S and RS push comes off the back of recent motorsport victories in the 24-hour races at Le Mans and the Nurburgring, the French event with an R18 e-tron quattro prototype and the German battle with an R8.

"We've never had so many S and RS models, and we've also got the R8. "To me, it definies the character of the brand. It comes from things like our victories at Le Mans," Doyle says.

"I think it's always been there, but we haven't done the job strongly enough. We perhaps have to remind ourselves what we've got in quatttro, even diesel, and S and RS."

He says the new concept is still being tweaked for maximum impact.

"We're a ways away from rolling it out in the network. The concept will be that in certain dealerships there will be a shop in a shop, with an Audi Sport area. We can quite easily use our terminals and convert space into Audi Sport."

He says the change will boost the impact of the upcoming Audi S1 quattro, coming in September, as well as the new-generation TT-S in 2015.

"Sales are already considerably up. We've already sold 1000 cars and we're 195 per cent up on S, RS and R8. SQ5 is in there as well."

"We haven't been proud enough, perhaps because we've only had one car at a time. Now we've never had so many, we've got eight RS models.

"Now we've got a good number of models to choose from, so why shouldn't we go with the mini showroom."