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24-05-2011, 06:56 AM
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تاريخ التسجيل: May 2011
المشاركات: 618
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Audi A7 four-door convertibles coming in 2011,Mercedes-Benz Ocean Drive
![](http://image.motortrend.com/f/features/auto_news/2006/9501825+pheader/112_news061220_01l+mercedes_benz_ocean_drive_concept+top_down_left_front_view.jpg)
Mercedes-Benz has approved the S600-based Ocean Drive for production in the 2011 model year. But it won't be the only four-door convertible on the market. An Audi A7 cabriolet will hit the European market in early 2011, not 2009 as reported
![](http://image.motortrend.com/f/9501828+w750/112_news061220_01z+mercedes_benz_ocean_drive_concept+left_front_view.jpg)
The two cars will not be direct competitors. The Ocean Drive concept, unveiled at the North American International Auto Show at Detroit last January, is based on the Mercedes S600, a sedan with a 510-horsepower, 5.5-liter V-12 and a price tag starting in the $120,000s.
The A7 sedan will arrive before the convertible in the 2009 model year as a CLS-Class competitor, a so-called "four-door sport coupe." It should sticker for much less than the S-Class. The A7 will be built on Audi's transmission-forward layout introduced in the A5 and S5.
The last four-door convertible of any volume sold in the United States was the 1961-1967 Lincoln Continental. It weighed about three tons and suffered significant body flex. The Ocean Drive and A7 cabrio will no doubt weigh a lot, but each will be based on an already stiff, substantial chassis and should be easier to build well than, say, the 300 convertible Chrysler was working on a couple years ago, following the ASC Helios.
And Mercedes and Audi have engines designed to move already heavy cars. The Ocean Drive could work with anything from the S-Class's 382-horsepower, 5.5-liter V-8 and 510-horsepower, 5.5-liter V-12 (in the concept) to the 525-horsepower, 6.2-liter AMG V-8 and 604-horsepower bi-turbo V-12. For the A7 cabrio, expect the 340-horsepower, 4.2-liter V-8, the 450-horsepower, 6.0-liter V-12, and the 450-horsepower, 5.2-liter FSI V-10.
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