It’s the Audi with six appeal! With the launch of the all-new Audi A6 just around the corner, the firm’s engineers have begun testing cars which are virtually stripped of their camouflage.

And that’s great news for us as these latest pictures are the closest yet to revealing the newcomer’s design. At the front, you can see that the A6 has gained a particularly angular pair of headlights. Likely to be offered with full LED technology for the first time, the units demonstrate a subtle evolution of Audi’s current design language as previewed by the smaller e-tron concepts.

Don’t be fooled by the upright trapezoidal grille of this test car though – the finished article will turn this upside down, creating an aggressive flat-bottomed diamond shape, flanked by sculpted grilles on either side of the front bumper.

The side view shows just how long the newcomer has become, while at the rear, the A6 shares a look similar in theme to that of Audi’s most recent concepts.

But while the styling might not set the world alight, the major change ofr the A6 is that it will use Audi’s latest modular MLB platform, which underpins the A4, A5 and Q5 in steel form, and A8 in aluminium. In the A7 and A6, the chassis is 20 per cent aluminium to reduce weight, but keep costs in check. As it allows engines to be mounted further back, the newcomer promises to be the best handling A6 ever.

Engine choices comprise 2.0-litre petrol and TDI diesel units, six-cylinder 2.8 FSI and 3.0 TFSI petrols, plus two 3.0 TDI versions. Stop/start systems are likely, as is quattro four-wheel drive plus six-speed manual, seven-speed S Tronic and eight-speed autos.

An Avant estate and flagship S6 performance model powered by a new 4.0-litre V8 are planned. The A6 debuts at the Geneva Motor Show next March, before going on sale in the summer.