The Audi A4 is a line of luxury compact executive cars produced since 1994 by the German car manufacturer Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. The A4 has been built in five generations and is based on the Volkswagen Group B platform. The first generation A4 succeeded the Audi 80. The automaker's internal numbering treats the A4 as a continuation of the Audi 80 lineage, with the initial A4 designated as the B5-series, followed by the B6, B7, B8, and the B9. The B8 and B9 versions of the A4 are built on the Volkswagen Group MLB platform shared with several models and brands across the Volkswagen Group. The Audi A4 automobile layout consists of a front-engine design, with transaxle-type transmissions mounted at the rear of the engine. The cars are front-wheel drive, or on some models, 'quattro' all-wheel drive. The A4 is available as a sedan and station wagon. Historically, the second (B6) and third generations (B7) of the A4 also included a convertible version. For the fourth generation (B8) and onwards, the convertible, along with a new coupé and 5-door liftback variant, was spun-off by Audi into a new nameplate called the Audi A5. (Source: Wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA)