Audi A5 Sportback unveiled

Audi's sleek new A5 Sportback model has been revealed in Germany, as part of its centenary celebrations. This 2+2 luxury car straddles the line between coupe, wagon and sedan, and will help to expand Audi's A5 range in a novel fashion. It also gives Audi a very contemporary way of attacking the Benz C-Class Estate and BMW 3 Series Touring models.

Unlike the abovementioned cars from Benz and BMW, the new Audi A5 Sportback features a less traditional 'wagon' or estate body style, instead showing off a sleeker, more contemporary and heavily tapered rear tailgate.

It has a subtle resemblance to the Mercedes-Benz CLS when viewed from the rear and though it's drawing a long bow, could even be lumped in with more exotic machinery such as the Porsche Panamera from a design point of view.

Despite the angled deck lid, the Audi A5 Sportback boasts an impressive 480 litres of cargo space, which compares well with the BMW 3 Series Touring's 460 litres. However with the seats folded down the BMW takes the cake, with 1350 litres compared to the Audi A5 Sportback's 980 litres.

Audi will offer the new A5 Sportback with a range of different engines spanning diesel and petrol fuels, and expects to have the vehicle in Australia in the first quarter of 2010.

The European launch of the vehicle will happen in September but the car is not slated for America.

Audi Australia said pricing was still to be finalised and would be announced closer to the local launch, but sources suggest the A5 Sportback will be the most affordable model in the A5 range.

European customers will be offered two different petrol engines, a 2.0-litre TFSI with 132kW or 155kW or a 3.2-litre V6 with 195kW, according to Audi.
Diesel engines will include the tried-and-tested 2.0-litre TDI that pumps out 125kW and uses an average of 5.2 litres of fuel per 100km and will be matched to a start-stop system to lower emissions.

Two V6 diesels are on the table as well -- a 2.7-litre TDI with 140kW and a 3.0-litre TDI that feeds 176 kW of power to the crankshaft.

Both front-wheel drive and quattro all-wheel drive layouts will be offered, along with manual and automatic transmission. Expect a range of the German car maker's cutting edge tech to be offered when the car comes to Australia early in 2010, such as the Audi drive select dynamic control system, adaptive shock absorber control, dynamic steering and more.

Along with the launch of the new A5 Sportback, Audi is marking its 100 year anniversary with a four-day celebration. It will unveil a giant Audi TT sculpture and has even convinced the German Chancellor Angela Merkel to help out.

Audi also plans on launching a second all-new model in the next couple of days, so stay tuned to the Carsales Network for more news on this secret model.

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