12 Jun 08 12:45
Audi is planning both hard-topped and convertible versions of its A7 four-door 'coupe', plus S7, RS7 and hybrid variants, according to AutoWeek.
The A7 will, as its name suggests, slot in Audi's range between the A6 saloon/estate and A8 saloon - much as the Mercedes-Benz CLS fits between E-Class and S-Class. The coupe is scheduled for sale in summer 2010, with the hotted-up S7 coming in the winter and RS7 models to follow in 2012. The convertible (2011) will keep the four-door layout, say insiders.
The A7 is built on a new platform that will also underpin the next-generation A6 (due 2011). However, while the A6 will retain conventional coil-spring suspension, the A7 will get self-levelling pneumatic springs. Engines for the range will be direct-injection 2.8 (204bhp) and supercharged 3.0 (300bhp) petrol units, with the S7 getting a turbocharged 4.0 V8 (394bhp) and the RS7 a 600bhp version of the 5.2 V10 turbo unit. There's no word yet on diesels, but these are no doubt also in the plan; the hybrid system is said to be compatible with a diesel engine as well as with a petrol V6. All versions will feature the Quattro four-wheel-drive system, and a new feature called torque-vectoring, to appear first in the upcoming new S4.
Although Audi anticipates sales of just 40,000 A7s a year - this is a pretty rarified market niche - the range will form part of an ambitious plan to sell more than 50% more cars each year by 2015. Audi also intends to nearly double its model-range, from the 23 different cars on offer today to 40.
