The weather is rainy and cold in Germany right now, which means the conditions are perfect for pre-production tests. Audi has entered the final stage of evaluations of the successor to today’s A4 family and these new spy shots show the wagon version with almost no exterior camouflage. This isn’t the new A4 Avant, though.
Earlier in 2023, Audi announced its plans to change the naming structure of its model range. What you need to know is that the company will start using odd numbers for cars with combustion power and even numbers for electric vehicles. As a result, the model that is still sold as the A4 will be renamed to A5, while the larger A6 will move to the A7 family, meaning that the prototype here is actually the new A5 Avant. The future of the A4 and A6 nameplates, in turn, is linked to BEVs.
This prototype gives us the impression that Audi will use an evolutionary design language for the new station wagon. The front fascia retains the outgoing model’s base arrangement with a hexagonal grille flanked by sweptback headlights. The bumper, however, appears to be more sculptured with vertical air intakes at the sides, reminiscent of the current RS4.
At the back, the rear window seems to be even narrower with a slightly more pronounced roof wing. The taillights are possibly slimmer and are connected with a coast-to-coast LED strip. This particular prototype has an internal combustion engine under the hood and is not a plug-in hybrid judging by the dual exhaust pipes integrated into the rear bumper and the lack of a charging port.
In fact, from what we know so far, every single version of the new A5 – be it in Sportback or Avant forms – will have a gas engine. There will be plug-in hybrid derivatives but the fully electric variant will be marketed as the A4. At this point, there’s no indication coming from Audi that the new A5 Avant will be available in the United States but just like the current A4 Allroad, the lifted version of the wagon could hit the US market at some point in the future.
The suspicious lack of spy shots depicting the traditional sedan body style has fueled rumors about Audi’s intention to sell only the Sportback and Avant. However, nothing is official at this point.
