’Back to the future

Don't be fooled by the concept label, this is the new A7. And it's a real looker, says Piers Ward. Click through the gallery to see Audi's take on the four-door coupe formula...

Photos: John Wycherley

Let's put aside all the clichéd niche-busting for a second. Audi has just announced that it will be building the Sportback concept next year as the new A7, and the important thing is that it looks fantastic. Audi needs crediting for that, before we get stuck into the marketing mush that will surely accompany the A7.

Because Audi sees the whole Sportback line-up as a crusade for the world, as its way to rid people of having to drive around in ordinary two-door coupes and instead get exciting four-door coupes to pilot. Much as Audi reckons it transformed the estate car market by creating the Avant and making it sexy, so the same goes for the Sportback. Audi wants to create an entire family of these models, and the A7 will sit at the top. There's even a possibility that there will be an RS7, but that will be some time off yet. 

It's based on the A6 platform but uses the new A8's interior technology and switchgear, and it will be between the two in pricing. Audi being Audi, none of the inside disappointed when we drove the Sportback concept - the design is clean and the materials good. Like the A5 Sportback, this concept car is only a four-seater. The reason for this is design - if you put a middle rear seat in, you have to raise the roofline by too much and then you lose those coupe looks.

‘Drove' is a strong word for the time we spent in the Sportback. It's only a concept car, so most of the switchgear doesn't work and the engine/gearbox/suspension/brakes/pretty-much-everything-else are nothing like they will be in the real thing.

But the important thing is what it looks like. The A7 will be nearly identical when it comes out next year (probably at the Paris Motor Show in September). However, the roofline will be 10mm higher. Not enough to turn it into a munter between now and then, in other words.

Which means this is finally an Audi Sportback that appeals. Yes, it's still got a whiff of marketing guff about it, but frankly the great looks overcome that. The Mercedes CLS showed you could create a cool and beautiful car out of essentially nothing, and the A7 should do the same.