Audi is filling every niche and come April 2009 we’ll see the new A5 Sportback. This coupe-cum-hatchback will be stunning, sitting on the A4 Avant’s wheelbase but as low and as wide as an A5 coupe.
Expect a super-sleek roofline, frameless side windows and a big sloping tailgate. Plus active-aero that will also appear on the new RS5 with an automatically extending tailgate air deflector.
So just what is the A5 Sportback?
‘With the Avant and the Sportback, we can attack the 3-series Touring and the C-class estate from two sides,’ says a well-placed engineer from Ingolstadt. ‘For Audi, this should mean about 50 percent more combined volume, 25 percent higher conquest rates and a 15 percent increase in market share in the segment.’ In other words, another variant spun off an exisiting platform.
Can I expect a hot version?
The product planners say no, because the Sportback will be priced to steal market share, rather than act as an S or RS halo car. But expect a familiar Audi engine line-up, including the latest 2.0-litre TFSI unit which delivers 211bhp and 258lb ft, and the 240bhp 3.0-litre V6 TDI which musters 369lb ft of torque.
Quattro will of course be available, as will Ingolstadt’s latest-gen seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
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