As stated in one or two previous articles on WCF, Audi has not cancelled any of its models but has merely postponed some for later launch dates. The leaked rollout schedule published in December 2007 says the Audi A5 Sportback will arrive in September 2009. That appears to be spot-on. What it also says is that the A7 was scheduled for release in June 2009. Clearly that did not happen.
A report now says the A7 has been moved back by a year and will only appear on showroom floors towards the end of 2010. The car will share some design elements with the A5 Sportback but is positioned higher than that. Effectively it will compete with cars like the Mercedes-Benz CLS, the Porsche Panamera and the Aston Martin Rapide.
Shaped like a coupe in the sense that it features a narrow window line and a coupe-like roof line, the A7 is unlike conventional sports coupes because, like the aforementioned cars it has four entry doors and not two. It also only has sitting space for four adults instead of five.
Engines said to have made the cut include the new supercharged 3.0-litre V6 used in the A6 and the S4/S5, as well as V8s. We reckon a 550hp-plus RS 7 would not be out of place in the company of rivals like the Panamera Turbo and the CLS 63 AMG.
HEMI426
July 2, 2009 7:11 PM
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