We have been hearing about a possible debut of the Audi A7 for quite some time now. However, not much had been revealed as yet. Building on the expectations, finally, a handful of spy pictures have emerged on the Net. The upcoming Audi A7 has been clicked on the roads near Salzburg in Austria. The pictures come courtesy of an Audi lover who was test driving his new Audi A8 when he saw the Audi A7 speeding past him, says a worldcarfans.com report.

So what do we have here to expect?

Going by the pictures, the Audi A7 sports an exterior much similar to the A8. This means that the frontal look would come with headlights, nose, grille, and foglights. The new Audi A7 is most likely to be rolled out in Paris this October. Expected to be powered by supercharged 3.0-liter 268-hp (200 kW / 272 PS) V6 and 372-hp (277 kW / 377 PS) 4.2-liter V8 engines, the diesel variants could include a 3.0-liter TDI producing 250 hp (184 kW / 253 PS), and a 350-hp (258 kW / 355 PS) 4.2-liter TDI. A 7-speed double clutch gearbox could be part of the new car, too. [via WCF]

Recently, some shots of the new Audi A7 leaked on the Internet, showing the car in a very advanced development state – it appears to be basically ready for production. There’s no sign of the usual research and development marks, and security seems to be loosened as well. Visually, the car seems to have undergone a change in its front, getting a new set of headlights as well as a new bumper.

Some may notice a similarity to the A5 Sportback, although the B and C pillars are different, and the front doors are frameless, which is standard for sports cars. The car gives off an appearance of being elongated and lowered, and bears some resemblance to the Porsche Panamera in some aspects, such as the spoiler. The car will have a pretty strong engine with a 7-gear transmission.

It’s expected to be released within two months or so. [via WCF]

Now that the new Audi A7 Sportback have failed the June 2009 deadline, Germans from Audi have decided that 2010 would be a much better year and postponed the new A7 Sportback release date. Rumored to hit the showroom floors at the end of 2010, the car will share some design elements with the new A5 Sportback but is obviously positioned higher than that.

Shaped like a coupe with a narrow window line and a coupe-like roof line, the A7 Sportback is unlike other sportcars as it features 7 (seven) doors. With powerful engines that include a 3.0-litre V6 used in the A6 and the S4/S5, as well as V8s, the new A7 Sportback is quite a competitor for high rollers like Mercedes-Benz CLS, the Porsche Panamera and the Aston Martin Rapide. Eh? [via auto-motor-und-sport.de]

I’m going to apologize for not bringing any Audi RS5 news, but believe me the confirmed sketches for the new A5 Cabrio & Sportback, A7 and next A8 are just as juicy. You already know how the first one looks, I’m talking about A5 Cabrio and A5 sportback but I bet the other two are a nice addition. Audi A7 is a large four-door, that looks a lot like the A5 sportback but with a normal trunk instead of a rear hatch, while the next-gen Audi A8 is much different than what we knew before, with angry eyes headlights and a sharp grille. What do you think? – via Motor Authority

Autoweek got their hands on a new leaked document revealing new details for the new Audi four-door coupe, saying the Germans are going to build a hard-top and soft-top convertible versions of the A7.

This will make them the first in the world to produce a modern 4-door convertible, but we knew that already, so where’s the news?

Audi A7 is going to feature two direct injection engines starting with a 204-hp naturally aspirated 2.8-liter as well as a 300hp 3.0-liter supercharged, while a 394-hp turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 has been saved for the S7 which will be launched in November 2010. Anyone care about the CO2 emissions on such a beauty? Probably not!

Source: autoweek