It Begins: Audi Kicks Off Year-End Car-Sales Frenzy with Special-Edition A4 and A3
The holiday season—which seems to grow in duration a bit more each year—has become a time when we are not only assaulted with continual messages to find “that perfect gift for everyone on your list,” but also a period during which we’re subject to a barrage of auto advertising.
Just like sweaters, scented candles, or tablets, luxury cars (often with an oversized red bow on top) are pitched as just the thing with which to surprise that special someone. More so than at any other time of the year, automakers turn on a fire hose of incentive money, powering cars out of the showroom with year-end clearance deals.
This year, Audi appears to be the first out of the gate, launching its “Season of Audi” sales event just after the calendar ticked over to November. Not only does it included the expected deals, but, in a first, special editions of the A4 and the A3 also were ginned up for the occasion.
The A3 Special Edition (at top), comes with Audi’s Black Optic package (gloss-black trim plus S line exterior bits), a sport suspension, heated seats, Audi Music Interface, Audi Advanced Key, and a choice of 18-inch matte-black “rotor” or 19-inch “wing design” five-spoke wheels. Based on the A3 Premium, the Special Edition premium costs an additional $2650 with the 18-inch wheels, or $3050 with the 19s.
The A4 Special Edition (above)—which is based on the current model, not the all-new 2017 car—brings navigation, heated seats, Audi Advanced Key, Audi Connect, and a backup camera. Like the A3, the A4 Special Edition includes the Black Optic and S line exterior bits, along with 18-inch Audi Sport double-spoke wheels or 19-inch titanium-finished Audi Sport V-spoke wheels. Again based on the Premium model, the A4 Special Edition asks an additional $3100 (with 18-inch wheels) or $3500 (with 19s).