A prototype of a new Audi A7 Avant station wagon has been spotted again, revealing many new details.
The vehicle will be twinned with a redesigned A7 Sportback hatchback in an expanded A7 family that’s expected to start arriving around 2025. It’s unclear whether the wagon will make it to the U.S., but the hatch will likely arrive on these shores as a 2026 model. The current A7 Sportback has been on sale since the 2019 model year and is expected to be redesigned soon.
This A7 Avant will replace the current A6 Avant which for its next generation follows the electric route. Prototypes for an electric A6 Avant E-Tron as well as a A6 E-Tron Sedan have already been detected in tests, and the debut of both should be just around the corner.
A similar strategy is planned for the A5 family, which is about to generate a Redesigned A5 Sportbackas well as a new A5 Avant replacing the current A4 Avant. Expect any future A4 Avant (and A4 sedan) run on batteries. It’s all due to a change of nomenclature announced by Audi last year that electric models will have an even number in their names and internal combustion engine model names will have an odd number.
Audi hasn’t mentioned plans for the next A7, but it expects the automaker to use an updated version of the MLB platform, known as PPC (Premium Platform Combustion). Audi plans phase out combustion models in most markets later this decade and is therefore unlikely to invest in a new ICE platform for the next A7.
The A7 Avant prototype features a sportier and more sculpted design than the current A6 Avant, which makes sense if the vehicle is twinned with a future A7 Sportback. A large, protruding grille sits at the front, while at the rear there are wide, muscular hips that integrate side vents below the taillights. Interestingly, it appears that Audi is also planning a return to exposed exhaust tips, albeit only on one side of the rear fascia in some versions.
A yellow warning sticker on the prototypes indicates that an electrified powertrain is being tested, likely a plug-in hybrid setup.
A high-performance RS 7 Avant should also be in the works, also with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. It will replace the current RS 6 Avant that Audi will ship with the recently revealed 2025 RS 6 Avant GT model.