As part of its new model blitz to drive its offerings up from the
current 23 cars to a total of 40, Audi is augmenting its lineup with
new coupes, soft-roaders and sedans. Late last year Audi revealed the
new S5 and A5 Cabrios and the Q5 SUV is already priced and
safety-tested for North America. One of the next models Audi plans to
bring to market is its A7 four-door coupe. The latest details reveal a
car targeted at premium buyers with a taste for style and power, with
both hard-top and cabriolet versions planned.
[image:
http://www.motorauthority.com/conten...7-630x360.jpg]

Production is a certainty now that Audi has decided to put millions of
euros into the plant in Neckarsulm in order to make the necessary
upgrades and changes to build the A7 there. Production will start
toward the end of next year, Audi boss Rupert Stadler told Automobile
Woche, leaving launch timing up in the air, but likely for a very late
2010 or early 2011 launch. Previous hints at a launch date had
mentioned the second half of 2010 as the target, but the with the
intervening global recession and corresponding downturn in the car
market, the A7 program appears to have been pushed back a few months.

A very wide range of powertrains will be offered in the A7 and its S7
and RS7 sport-focused variants. Everything from diesel-electric hybrids
to 600hp V10s will be found under the hood of one variant or another.
The hybrid drive is expected to show up first in the company’s Q5
soft-roader. A diesel-electric version is rumored, but the company may
end up using a gasoline engine instead.

The more ordinary A7 variants will be powered by a pair of V6s. The
first, a 204hp 2.8L engine is the base model, while the 3.0L
supercharged engine making 300hp will be the first step up. An upgrade
to S7 trim will bring with it another 94hp in the form of a 4.0L V8.
The RS7’s 600hp 5.0L twin-turbo V10 is the range-topper. The S7 and RS7
will be released two years apart, with the S7 arriving first in late
2010 or early 2011 and RS7 after that.

A six-speed manual gearbox and eight-speed automatic will be available
in the lower-spec models, while a seven-speed dual-clutch unit is also
expected to be offered in the higher-performance variants. North
American models are also expected to get Audi’s quattro AWD standard,
though it is not known if European market variants will have a RWD
option. Audi’s new torque-vectoring system will also be part of the
package.

Air suspension will replace the standard spring-based system found in
other Audis. The change is designed to help the car compete with the
progenitor of the four-door coupe genre, the Mercedes CLS. Sales of the
car are only expected to reach the 40,000 mark, but the image boost it
will offer with its high-tech features and glamorous look - especially
in the soft-top variant - are important for Audi’s development as a
brand.

Audi released several official sketches of its future lineup late last
year, including one of the A7, and our preview fleshes that sketch out
into a three-dimensional look at what could be.


*Source: http://car.ohbabe.info/ver2/?cmd=act:news|newsid:2666*




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