yesterday's A7 photo leakage
, Audi has finally unveiled the full details of the new A7 Sportback.
Quite what the new car is, we're not sure. Audi says it's a "large, elegant five-door model" (okay, no problem there) that "combines the emotional character of a grand coupe, the comfort and prestige of a sedan and the active practicality of a station wagon". All very nice, but frankly it leaves us none the wiser as to what the A7 Sportback actually is...
Be that as it may, the new A7 is here, and order books open in mid-August with first deliveries expected toward the end of the year. Prices will start from just under £43k.
The 4.97-metre A7 is made of a mixture of aluminium and high-strength steels and is shorter, lower and narrower than the company's A8 flagship. It is also likely to sit on the same platform as the next-generation A6.
Under the bonnet is a choice of four V6s (two turbodiesel, two petrol). All are direct-injection, and feature stop-start tech and brake energy recuperation. The top petrol option is a supercharged V6 that makes 295bhp and 325lb ft of torque - enough to propel the 3.0TFSI A7 to 62mph from rest in 5.6secs on the way to an electronically limited 155mph top speed. The fastest diesel, meanwhile offers 241bhp and a beefy 369lb ft of torque, which makes it good for a 0-62mph sprint of 6.5secs and a 155mph top end.
A hotter S7 version is expected to be unveiled at the Paris motor show in September, and an 'RS' is even rumoured.
The two petrol options and the more powerful of the two diesels come with Quattro all-wheel drive and Audi's seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch transmission as standard, while the entry-level diesel gets the option of Audi's Multitronic CVT gearbox and front-wheel drive.
Audi's active 'sport differential' is available as an option on four-wheel drive models, while the Audi drive select electronic assistance system comes fitted as standard. The standard steel suspension can also be swapped for an air-sprung system.
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