New Audi A7 and RS7 spotted: A6 replacement coming in 2025
December 09, 2024 by Jamie Edkins
Car changing is a big deal
The new Audi A7 has been spotted out and about during development testing ahead of its debut next year, and the hot RS7 has also been papped.
- New Audi A7 spotted testing
- A6 replacement gets modernised styling
- Available in both saloon and estate guises
- Aggressive-looking RS7 also spotted
- Petrol and plug-in hybrid engines expected
- On sale in 2025
Audi will be launching its replacement for the A6 next year, and it’ll be called A7 in line with the brand’s new naming structure. Even numbers are now reserved for electric cars, while odd numbers will be given to models with internal combustion engines.
The new A7 will be available as both a saloon and an estate, both of which have been spotted by Carwow’s spy photographers along with the flagship RS7.
New Audi A7 and RS7 design
Audi doesn’t tend to go in for massive design overhauls in the same way BMW does, opting instead for a more subtle, evolutionary approach. The new A7 looks like it’ll follow this trend; it looks like a modernised version of the outgoing A6.
You have sleek LED headlights up front flanking the wide grille, and it has a more sloped bonnet line than the current A6 as well. It looks a bit less angular from the side, a bit like a piece of sea glass worn smooth over the years.
As with the A6, you’ll be able to get the new A7 as both a saloon and an estate, or Avant in Audi parlance. The rear light design is similar on both cars, with the sequential indicators hidden in the full-width light bar. Audi is also doing away with fake exhaust tips for its next generation of cars, so the new A7 gets real pipes at the rear.
As well as the A7, our spy photographers have also spotted the hot RS7 Avant out and about in the Arctic. It has a much more aggressive-looking front bumper than the standard car, with larger air intakes and a different grille design.
You can also tell that the RS7 has wider wheel arches than the standard car to accommodate the wider tyres it needs to put all of its power down, and the typical RS oval tailpipes are present and correct as well.
New Audi A7 and RS7 engines and performance
There will be no electric versions of the new Audi A7, with the new A6 e-tron being its EV equivalent. You can expect a range of petrol and plug-in hybrid engine options to be on offer, and possibly a diesel as well.
Audi has already promised to be an EV-only brand by 2033, so it’s unlikely to be working on any all-new internal combustion engines for the A7. It’s more likely to get a revised version of the 2.0-litre petrol engines you’ll find in the current A6, as well as a similar plug-in hybrid system to the Volkswagen Passat which could have over 70 miles of range.
As for the RS7, there are a few rumours around what could be under the bonnet. It could stick with a similar 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 to the current RS6, or there are some sources speculating that it’ll get a V6 instead.
Regardless of how many cylinders it ends up having, it’ll almost certainly use a plug-in hybrid system to boost both power and efficiency. Our best guess would be that it’ll use a similar V8 PHEV setup to the Porsche Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid, a car which has 680hp.
When can I buy the new Audi A7?
Audi has promised that the only new cars it’ll launch from 2026 onwards will be electric, so the new A7 and RS7 will come in 2025. You can expect the standard car to break cover in the first half of the year, with the RS7 coming further down the line.
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