SPY PICS: Hatch crossed with coupe equals Audi's A5 Sportback

Hatchbacks have long been considered the province of volume-selling cars. Prestige and luxury marques have generally avoided them except in smaller, entry-level lines such as BMW's 1 Series, Mercedes-Benz A and B-Class, or MPV-style offerings such as the Benz R-Class.

Saab, for example, was so certain of the inappropriateness of a hatchback configuration in its previous generation, mid-size five-door 9-3 that local company executives at the time insisted on describing it as a sedan.

Now, Audi appears to be reviving the hatch as an appropriate presence in the luxury market with its upcoming five-door A5 Sportback.

Based on the two-door A5 coupe, the five-door upmarket Audi has long been the subject of speculation -- but now we have photos.

These Carparazzi shots are of what appears to be a close-to-production A5 Sportback, taken at night and showing a lot of front-to-rear detail.

From the pictures it can be seen that the general fastback profile, as well as front and rear-end detail, are clearly based on the two-door coupe: even the side window line into the C-pillar is similar. Hard to figure is whether the five-door will use the two-door wheelbase, although gauging the proportions of the two versions, it looks highly probable.

What the A5 Sportback will do is blend the low-slung good looks of the two-door version with hatchback practicality -- a lot like its sister development, the sumptuous Volkswagen Passat CC.

It is clear from the photos that the Audi hatch stems from the current A5 coupe range -- which in turn stems from the A4 -- meaning it also addresses another growing phenomenon in the luxury segment: the exponential growth of the four-door "coupe" initiated in 2005 by the handsome, Jaguar-like Mercedes-Benz CLS series.

Like the Mercedes, it could be expected the A5 Sportback will be upmarket of two-door versions, with engine availability extending up to Audi's 4.2-litre V8 and an RS5 version waiting in the wings.

The A5 Sportback will slot in below the long-discussed, next generation A6-based Audi A7 four-door "coupe."

-- with Carparazzi