Audi unveils 326bhp A7 ‘competition’

‘Ain't no party like an Audi 25th-anniversary-of-TDI-technology party,' they probably never sang. But this is the car that celebrates that very anniversary. It's the new A7 Sportback ‘Competition'.

25 years, you cry? Aye, for it was at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1989 that Audi presented the Audi 100, complete with an inline five-pot 2.5-litre TDI for the first time. To date, the Four Rings to Rule Them All has pumped out some 7.5 million cars with TDI engines. Which is quite a lot.

So, this A7 comes with the rather sublime 3.0-litre V6 biturbo diesel engine we've raved about before, though with modifications to the turbo and the camshafts, it gets a small but significant power boost. 316bhp now becomes 326bhp.

Torque is plentiful, too, with a maximum of 479lb ft available between the narrow margin of 1,400rpm and 2,800rpm. It'll go from 0-62mph in 5.1 seconds, which is one-tenth quicker than before.

This ‘competition' A7 also comes with the S line sport pack: 20mm lower ride height, 20in five-spoke alloys, 17in brake discs with red calipers, black gloss dotted around the exterior, some leather sports seats, aluminium inserts inside, Quattro logos on the door sills and a multifunction steering wheel with shift paddles.

It'll cost €72,000 in Germany, with no UK prices announced yet. But hang on a tick: this more powerful Audi A7 and the most powerful Mercedes S65 AMG Coupe were both released the morning after Germany lifted the World Cup trophy. Blatant Teutonic bandwagoning, or just lucky timing?