Audi is bringing the ruckus to the North American market right now. Giving us models to fill niches we didn’t know existed, but now that we do, we want them very much. One such niche is the four-door coupe segment, as invented by the Mercedes CLS just 3 years ago. Now Audi wants in. Audi brings to the coupe-sedan-luxo-barge arena its Quattro system, huge grille, and high affinity for LED lighting. Will this be enough to steal the four customers in the world with enough money or credit to cross-shop the Panamera, Rapide, CLS, and Audi offering? We’ve got what you need to make an informed decision, including a video, after the jump.
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Foreshadowing Audi’s new design language, as well as the upcoming A7 sedan we spied a couple weeks ago, we bring you the Audi Sportback Concept (not to be confused with the A1 Sportback Concept. Those Audi guys really need to spend a little more time on names and a little less time on counting LEDs in the headlights and taillights). The Sportback Concept, which we will call the “A7″ henceforth because that’s really what it is, will be nearly 5m in length, 1.93m wide, and 1.4m high so it will have space for four adults and a 500L boot to boot.
Powering the A7 will be a 3.0L TDI engine producing 225hp and 406 torques, which is transferred to the wheels via a 7-speed S tronic (read DSG) transmission. 0-100kph is expected to be in the sub-7 second range with fuel economy figures of 5.9L/100km in the Euro combined cycle, translating into about 48mpg. Keep in mind that while those are staggering fuel economy numbers for such a heavy and powerful vehicle, those numbers are on the easier Euro cycle so published numbers for Canada would be significantly less, but no less impressive.
All in all, the Sportback Concept looks pretty spiffy, especially with the Rapide-esque glass roof, but it still doesn’t mean that it is the answer to a question any customers are asking. This whole coupe-sedan-luxo-barge niche is full of very good-looking vehicles that will drive beautifully but come up short in terms of practicality. Which begs the question, why not just get a coupe instead? I know I would.
