For Audi, no niche is too small. You want proof? How does an A5 Sportback sound? The car you see here will be in dealers by 2009. In addition to the existing Avant estate and Allroad crossover wagon range, the product planners from Ingolstadt are now probing where they can shoehorn in Sportback models - and the A5 is next to receive the sporty wagon treatment.
Originally, the A5 Sportback was a Shortback - a kind of Avant with a drastically reduced rear overhang. But it did not look right, and it deservedly got the chop. Instead, the designers under Wolfgang Egger created an absolutely stunning coupé-hatchback hybrid worthy of the Sportback designation and revealed in our latest artist's impression.
Audi A5 Sportback: a sleeker estate
The A5 Sportback will combine styling elements of the A5, A4 saloon and A4 Avant - wrapped up in a super-sleek roofline, frameless side windows and a big sloping tailgate. Integrated in the hatchback is a motorised extending air deflector, which adds a sporty touch and works wonders for the downforce at 100mph-plus. Perfect for autobahn storming or posing.
A well placed engineer from Ingolstadt told CAR Online: 'With the Avant and the Sportback, we can attack the 3-series Touring and the T-model C-class from two sides. For Audi, this should mean about 50 percent more combined volume, 25 percent higher conquest rates and a 15 percent increase in market share in the segment.'
The A5 isn't the only model to get the Sportback treatment that started on the A3. The next A3 in 2011 will again have a Sportback, there will be a Sportback version of the next A6 - which looks different enough to wear the A7 moniker - and there may yet be an A8 Sportback inspired by the Avantissimo show car
Originally, the A5 Sportback was a Shortback - a kind of Avant with a drastically reduced rear overhang. But it did not look right, and it deservedly got the chop. Instead, the designers under Wolfgang Egger created an absolutely stunning coupé-hatchback hybrid worthy of the Sportback designation and revealed in our latest artist's impression.
Audi A5 Sportback: a sleeker estate
The A5 Sportback will combine styling elements of the A5, A4 saloon and A4 Avant - wrapped up in a super-sleek roofline, frameless side windows and a big sloping tailgate. Integrated in the hatchback is a motorised extending air deflector, which adds a sporty touch and works wonders for the downforce at 100mph-plus. Perfect for autobahn storming or posing.
A well placed engineer from Ingolstadt told CAR Online: 'With the Avant and the Sportback, we can attack the 3-series Touring and the T-model C-class from two sides. For Audi, this should mean about 50 percent more combined volume, 25 percent higher conquest rates and a 15 percent increase in market share in the segment.'
The A5 isn't the only model to get the Sportback treatment that started on the A3. The next A3 in 2011 will again have a Sportback, there will be a Sportback version of the next A6 - which looks different enough to wear the A7 moniker - and there may yet be an A8 Sportback inspired by the Avantissimo show car
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