New Audi A5 Sportback spied testing

Audi has proceeded to the road tests of its new A5 Sportback. Motor1 believes the car is being tested in its production guise with finalized bodywork and lighting, although the impervious camo makes it hard to see.

Since the marque is on its way to becoming all-electric in just three years, this may very well be the last A5 generation running on traditional engine power. You can watch the video with the current-gen A5 and compare it with the one in the spy shots to try and spot the changes, because there isn’t much in sight.

For the interior, we expect two large displays not integrated into the dash panel and only a minimal amount of hardware controls as envisioned by the latest VW Group design philosophy.

For the powertrains, there will primarily be mild and plug-in hybrids to choose from, and probably no large-volume engines. Like Mercedes-Benz before it, Audi may opt for a part-electric lineup centered around 2.0-liter four-cylinder mills.

It is also possible that some body styles will not make it into the next generation. Rumor has it that the coupe and the convertible variants are the most likely to drop out of the lineup, while the A4 Sedan may end up phased out by the A5 Sportback. It is also possible that the family will shrink to just two body styles: liftback and estate. Earlier on, Audi announced the intention to use odd model numbers for ICE cars and even numbers for EVs, so we would not be surprised to see an A5 Avant in the next generation.