» Audi unveils A7 Sportback

Luxury car maker Audi has taken the wraps off its latest model in its bulging portfolio, with the A7 Sportback being unveiled.

As the manufacturer’s answer to the Mercedes-Benz CLS and BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo, the Q7 Sportback – first shown off as a concept car at last year’s Detroit Motor Show – is a cross between a coupe and a large sedan, which will go on sale in Australia in early 2011.

Audi claims the A7 Sportback will offer the comfort and practicality for four all wrapped up in a sporty body, all perched atop 18 to 20-inch rims. And it is a big body indeed: ostensibly built on the A6 platform, the A7 measures a nearly 5 metres in length and almost two metres across.

For the powerplant, Audi will offer a range of V6 engines – two petrol and two turbo diesels. The petrol pair will be a choice between a 150kW 2.8-litre FSI or the supercharged 220kW 3.0-litre TFSI already in use in the S5 Sportback and S4 sedan. Perhaps ambitiously, Audi is claiming the respective fuel consumption figures are each are 8.0L/100km and 8.2L/100km. The diesel variants (both 3.0-litre capacity) offer better fuel consumption – claimed at under 6.0L/100km – and will produce between 150kW and 180kW.

In the transmission stakes, the lower-spec diesel will be equipped with either Audi’s multitronic (CVT) transmission and is front-wheel drive only. The other three configurations will come with Audi’s seven-speed S-tronic double-clutch gearbox and the Quattro all-wheel-drive.

And if you want even more power, Audi will also produce a high-performance S7 variant shortly after the initial sale launch, which is rumoured to be powered by the 4.2-litre V8 petrol engine from the beautiful R8 supercar.