Audi is working on a fresh A4. That new generation A4 will be a special one, because it seems to be the last generation with combustion engines. These spy photos show the new Audi A4 for the first time.
The current B9 generation of the Audi A4 was presented in 2015 and received a modified front during a facelift in 2019. The model is now about 6 years old, which means that the leaders in Ingolstadt have already thought extensively about a successor. We expect the new A4 that you see in these photos as Avant on the market around 2023. It seems very likely that it will be the last A4 you can still get with combustion engines. Audi will only release new electric models from 2026.
For the new A4, Audi will probably build on the MLBevo basis that you will find under the current type and many other models of the Volkswagen Group. Of course, the new Audi A4 Avant will be back on the market with (mild-hybrid) petrol and diesel engines, but you can also count on the arrival of plug-in hybrid powertrains. The smaller brother A3 already has it, but the A4 has not yet had it. Don’t be surprised if Audi switches to a plug-in hybrid powertrain for the supreme RS4 variant. The 2.9 V6 of the current RS4 could be combined with an electric motor. There are even rumors of the arrival of a fully electric RS4, but it is unlikely that such a version can be combined with the MLBevo foundation of the new A4.
Audi A4 Avant
Will there not be an electric A4? Most likely, but that would be a standalone e-tron model. Just like Audi is working on a fully electric A6 e-tron, Audi will almost certainly come up with an A4 e-tron. That car would be based on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) basis, which was developed together with Porsche, on which the aforementioned A6 e-tron also rests.
The further development of the current MLBevo base may also bring rear-wheel steering to the A4. Direct competitor Mercedes-Benz C-class is, after all, also available with such technology. For the new A4, Audi seems to have referred the slots between the hood and grille to the wastebasket. The Single Frame grille seems less high than that of the current model and the headlights also look flatter. In any case, little seems to change in the basic shape of the A4 Avant, which means that the new station wagon will also have a fairly flat rear window.
We expect the new Audi A4 on the market sometime in 2023, although Audi may already show something of the model at the end of next year.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl