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Alongside the R8 GT-R, A7 Sportback and A6, the German tuner will also be presenting a fourth model, which is being kept a secret for now. “We will be bringing along a sports car which I personally like a lot. For it shows our technical capabilities and offers a maximum level of driving enjoyment. I am looking forward to seeing how it is received by the public in Geneva," said the ABT general manager, Hans-Jürgen.
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The sleek A7 Sportback, which fills whatever gap there is left between the A6 sedan and Avant and the flagship A8 saloon, is designed to take on the likes of the second generation Mercedes-Benz CLS and the BMW 5-Series GT. It will arrive in European showrooms this fall with two diesel and two gasoline V6 engines. Until then, make the jump to watch the A7 in motion.
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Starting with the S line sport trim, this package adds a taut sport suspension that drops the A7's ride height by 10mm, and 19-inch wheels wrapped in 255/40 R19 rubber or optionally, 20-inch rims with 265/35 R20 tires.
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The automaker from Ingolstadt toyed around with the idea of a fastback model in the upper-medium segment more than 30 years ago with the presentation of a hatchback version of the A6's predecessor, the 100, carrying the Avant nameplate.
That was before Audi began started using the Avant moniker for its Station Wagon models beginning with the third generation of the 100 in 1982.
The German carmaker claims the production version of last year's Sportback Concept brings together the best of three worlds:"the sporty elegance of a coupe, the comfort of a sedan and the practicality of a station wagon." In reality, the A7 Sportback is a shaper looking version of the next A6 with a lower roofline, a more practical rear hatch and seating for four.
The car's exterior and interior design has remained largely untouched over the 2009 Detroit show car with most changes concerning practical details such as the larger head- and tail lamps and the shape and size of the exterior mirrors, along with the less fancy trim inside. And oh, it also gets a neat retractable rear spoiler similar to the one found on the Porsche Panamera.
Most differences concern practical details such as the shape and size of the exterior mirrors, and the air-inlets on the front bumper. The car also keeps the show car's five-door body style with a practical rear hatch.
In a similar fashion, the styling of the interior is almost identical to the concept, sans the colors and the decorative trim. From what we know, the just-under 5-meters long A7 Sportback will be strictly for four passengers.
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The Ingolstadt-based automobile manufacturer did not release any other details about the event or the car. However, we do know that the new A7 Sportback (that's the official name used by the automaker) is the production version of the 2009 Sportback Concept and will be mechanically related to the next A6.
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The upscale five-door model will compete with the new Mercedes-Benz CLS, and if the rumors turn out to be true, with the BMW 6-Series GT (or whatever else the Bavarian firm's decided to call the production Gran Coupe) also, when it goes on sale next year.
Rumors coming from Britain indicate that instead of the "hurry up and wait a couple years" strategy that usually surrounds RS models, Audi's 'quattro' division will be releasing its RS7 side-by-side with the standard A7.
Power is said to be sourced from a non-turbo version of Audi's 5.2 liter V10 putting out as much as 580-horsepower and hooked to a 7-Speed DSG transmission.
Designed to compete with the likes of the Mercedes-Benz CLS that will soon enter its second generation, the A7 shares its steel-reinforced aluminium platform and mechanical hardware with the next A6.
The A7 though will arrive first as Audi has already made it official that it will launch the sporty-looking saloon onto the market in the second half of 2010.
Power will come from a variety of gasoline and diesel engines including the firm's supercharged 3.0-liter V6 TFSI petrol, while rumor has it that Audi will expand the range in 2011 with a gasoline-electric hybrid model.
Via: DN TV
There goes Audi's surprise premiere; the first official photos of the firm's Detroit Show Sportback concept have been leaked into the internet. The first thing that caught our attention on Audi's concept study is without doubt the Sportback's rear-end and the similarities it shares with the Lamborghini Estoque saloon that was unveiled at last year's Paris Show. There's no official info on the car yet, but our sources state that the Sportback Concept will find its way into production as the A7 by mid-2010. And yes, it will be based on the A6 using the same powertrains, including the 3.0 TFSI turbocharged V6 and the RS6's twin-turbo 5.0-lter V10. Click through to see the leaked photos and tell us your initial thoughts.
Source: Fortitude , Via: Jalopnik
It may look like an unsuccessful attempt to recreate a character from the “Cars” movie, but the cover-camouflaged vehicle you’re seeing in these spy pictures from Autobild magazine is the forthcoming Audi A7. The A7 is described as a four-door coupe, or to put it simple, a more aggressively designed but less practical and spacious sedan with a low-slung roof-line.Expected to be introduced in a major car show in 2009 with sales following in 2010, the A7 will be based on the A6 platform and it will be offered with a wide variety of engines including Audi’s new 3.0 TFSI supercharged V6 petrol unit. The A7 will compete against the Mercedes-Benz CLS and the forthcoming BMW 8-Series (or 9-Series) four-door coupe based on the CS Concept.
Via: Autobild
Finishing off its trio of, allegedly official Audi sketches (see the A1 here and the R8 Spider here), Car Online took off the wraps on the A7, a 4door-coupe model aiming at the Mercedes-Benz CLS. The Brits support that the A7 will be previewed by a concept at the 2008 New York Auto Show with a production version following in at the 2009 Frankfurt International motor Show. If Car's sources are correct, then the A7 will most probably be based on the A6 platform using the same 3.2 V6 and 4.2 V8 FSI petrol units and 2.7 and 3.0 V6 TDI diesel units along with the Lamborghini Gallardo derived, 5.0 V10 powerhouse for the top spec S7/RS7 version.Via: Car
I guess your wondering who Gabriel Rabhi is. Well, he could be you, he could be me, he could be anyone with a passion for cars. See, as we learnt from his website, Rabhi is not a professional automotive designer but a computer graphic artist that works for many companies and projects. A passion may fade over time, but as Rabhi’s A7 splendid rendering proves, it’ll never die. Now, a word about his interpretation of an Audi A7 four-door coupe (rumoured to be unveiled sometime in 2008). According to Rabhi, the main characteristic of his A7 is the mid curve on the side of the car that’s inspired from 70’s muscle cars and is also evident on the upcoming A5 Coupe spy shots. Another highlight of his design is of course the 'ala' Alfa Romeo inspired hidden rear door handles. Via: Fourtitude, Source: Gabriel Rabhi -Continued: Click “Read More…” below to see the rest of the article plus a high-res image gallery
A First Study Work
I’m CG Artist, video game and graphical software programmer, multimedia developer and composer. I’m living in
This car is the result of an intuitive work without any pretentious but a high rendering quality: I have done most of the design directly in 3 dimensions, on the basis of few roughs to define ideas. The absence of a real design work still visible: there are a few ideas, but the whole design is awkward, the language is not clear, the curves and volumes are not perfectly balanced, and numerous details are not realistic. This model is not the result of an advanced work of design with numerous roughs, a reflection to define perfect volumes and a new Audi design language. The design was the matter of only few hours.
But I think the result is good proof that fast virtual prototyping is a reality: I have used one of the best render engines to reach a high quality in lighting simulation, and I was inspirited by the classical Audi concept cars presentations, like the one of the Nuvolary to build a studio like view. And actually, it seems to produce studio like picture from an idea, the longer processes are design and modeling, not rendering.
From this rendering setup, it’s easy to build an animation and make it realistic moving in a virtual road, or in a real road with a final composition process to mix real pictures and virtual car pictures.
The design
The global look is four doors coupe that can be similar to the coming A7. The main idea is the mid curve on the side of the car that is inspired from the 70’s muscle car. This curve is near what has been done on the A5, but with a wider curvature. This curve is looking like a feline body before a run, with eyes that look at its prey.
To define the volumes of this model, I was starting with the automotive definition constraints: headlamp position, engine compartment space, seats position, rear passenger space, roof, boot volume, realistic wheel size… I started from an RS4 modified to take care of visible evolutions of the B8 platform mules: reduced overhang, larger wheelbase, wider track, engine backward.
This model is a little bit realistic about technical specifications. I think this model design is not extraordinary. But the rendering is good, and I can say it’s one of my masterworks. Going far beyond in rendering sophistication is not an easy thing. I have used a global illumination model finely tuned to have a large color frequency specter and rich gradients. The lighting was made to enhance the understanding of shape trough specular highlights.
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