Audi says the success of the Audi Sportback started with the Audi A3 Sportback. Sales of the 5-door wagonish model outperformed the 3-door hatchback version. They consider this a market trend so Audi wants to expand this Sportback brand with both a larger and a smaller model. We’ve previously seen the smaller model, the Audi A1 Sportback showed in concept form sometime last year. Now it’s time to take a look at the bigger car, the new Audi Sportback Concept which previews the future Audi A7 four-door.
Most of the styling elements have been derived from the A5 coupe, but the wavy shoulderline that made the A5 unique is missing. The front end has a new interpretation of Audi’s single frame grille which eliminates the vertical struts, leaving only the horizontal lines which like their counterparts on shirts make the car look wider. The outer countour of the single-frame grille is also an evolution of the one shown on the Audi A1 Sportback concept car.
The new Audi Sportback measures 4,950mm long, 1,930mm wide and 1,400mm tall, compared to the Audi A6 sedan’s 4,916mm length, 2,012mm width and 1,461mm height. So this vehicle is longer, wider but sits lower. It’s so long that it even exceeds the Audi A6 Avant’s 4,933mm length. But it is shorter than the Audi A8 SWB’s 5,051mm length. It’s quite a porker too, but understandable based on its size, weighing in at a massive 1,800kg.
Under the hood, and pretty unusual for an American debut until recently is the use of a 3.0 litre TDI V6 engine that is equipped with an AdBlue catalytic converter. AdBlue is an additive thats added to the exhaust stream to reduce harmful content in emissions. This engine makes 225 horsepower and 550Nm of torque, mated to a 7-speed S-Tronic transmission. The car also has quattro all-wheel drive to channel all that torque to four wheels effectively. The S-Tronic gearbox has a new feature in this concept car, it has transmission oil heating which helps it reach the optimum internal operating tempreature earlier for a lower level of internal friction.
More features that help it sip fuel include brake energy regeneration, low roll resistance tyres, an automatic start-stop system, and an electric power steering that only uses energy when cornering and not when the car is driven in a straight line. This helps it achieve an ECE fuel economy of 5.9 litres per 100km and 156g/km of emissions.
Look after the jump for a hi-res gallery.
Video: 2009 Audi Sportback Concept: official details
After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history. An avid electronic gadget aficionado as well as big-time coffee lover, he's also the executive producer of the Driven motoring TV programme.
Very nice. If they put this baby into production, I’d be the 1st in line to buy it. That is, if I have the money to buy it…
wow… not bad… Audi is now catchin’ up faster than merc and BMW…. The car really luks hot….
Hooh!! Definitely looks better then CLS, 6 Series and the odd looking Porsche Panamera!
Wow. Assuming the interior is going to be very close to the production model, Audi have taken their interiors to a whole new level with the A7. Oh, BTW, if you look at the European market, Audi has surpassed BMW and Mercedes already in terms of awards, and sales of some model ranges. And the trend does not look like stopping anytime soon.
This is one hot car.
The rear looks like lambo…
interior is killer!
i guess the headlamp is now utilising full LED tech and my gawd look at the rear lamp! fuuyoohh…
the sloping roofline looks like Gen2 hehe
a budget lamborghini estoque
With Audi set to join the Coupe Saloon fray, it’s quite strange if BMW would end their CS Concept/8-series project. Hopefully they will resume the work…
sportbac look kinda makes it unelegant…compared to if it were 2 be a saloon
audi are gettin way better these day,
but the light hahah make the car look so cool and lazy haha