This is Audi’s new S7, the first overtly sporting version of Ingolstadt’s rival for the next-gen Mercedes CLS and forthcoming BMW 8-series.
And how do we know it’s an Audi S7?
The most obvious giveaways are the quad exhausts, the reserve of all Audi’s S models – the hotter RS cars use twin oval pipes. Look closer and you’ll also spy a pop-up rear spoiler, similar in style to the active aero device that has just debuted on the RS5. Behind the psychedelic disguise there’s also a more aggressive bodykit, which includes bigger air intakes in the deeper front bumper, lower sills and a mock rear diffuser. The wing mirrors will also come with a brushed aluminium finish on the final production car.
What about the rest of the A7 range?
The A7 is a sleeker, hatchback version of the next-gen A6, and will debut ahead of its more sensible sibling – we’ll see the A7 at the Moscow motor show in August. Its aim is to take on Merc’s 2nd-gen CLS, and BMW’s 8-series when that arrives.
Top-spec models will come with air suspension as standard and there’ll be a choice of petrols (including the supercharged 3.0 V6 and the n/a 4.2 FSI V8) and diesels (2.7 V6, 3.0 V6) mated to manual, auto or dual-clutch transmissions. The S7 snapped in our pictures is expected to use a petrol-fed V8 with around 500bhp – the American market is thought to have ruled out a V6 as an option for such a high-end variant. There’s a hybrid version coming too.
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