Distinguished jury selects the Audi A7 Sportback for first place by wide margin, with the win once again affirming Audi’s reputation for fine design.

The Audi A7 Sportback has scored a big victory: the five-door coupé has been selected the winner of the “Auto Bild” Design Summit. A distinguished jury panel evaluated the design of ten new cars and voted the Audi A7 Sportback number one by a wide margin for its outstanding design.

Renowned design experts such as James Kelly, who heads the Transportation Design department at Pforzheim University, expressed high praise for the coupé. “The design of the Audi A7 Sportback was the best in the group by far,” Kelly said. “The low tail section is especially impressive! I’d buy it immediately.” Othmar Wickenheiser, professor of Transportation Design at the Munich University of Applied Sciences, also praised the car’s styling: “An absolutely harmonious design concept. Unembellished flanks, sinewy shoulders, streamlined sides — perfect.”

Well-known architect and design critic Hans-Ulrich von Mende and Prof. Paolo Tumminelli of the International School of Design in Cologne selected the Audi A7Sportback the winner in a list of categories including proportions, styling, innovation, haptics and quality. Stefan Sielaff, Head of Audi Design, said: “We are extremely pleased with this achievement — to be selected by a jury of such experts in the field of design. The award confirms the outstanding position of the Audi A7 Sportback within the competitive field, and the excellent response from our customers confirms the appeal of this car.” “Our research has shown aesthetic design to be the number one reason why customers choose an Audi. The award only confirms that the experts agree that our cars are beautiful. We are now even more excited to present the Audi A7 Sportback to Singapore later this year,” says Reinhold Carl, Managing Director of Audi Singapore.

With aesthetic athletics and elegance on a grand scale, the Audi A7 Sportback measures 4.97 metres long and 1.91 metres wide, but just 1.42 metres high. Its long hood, sporty, flowing C-pillars and the steep drop of the rear section present a dynamic overall image.

The interior is also a testament to the meticulous attention to detail that Audi puts into building cars; the quality of the craftsmanship is on par with fine handcrafted goods. The senses are pampered with high quality new materials including veneers made with a laminated-wood technique. Like Audi’s A8 flagship, the A7 Sportback also combines a new level of technical intelligence with logical, intuitive ergonomics and self-explanatory operation. The advanced MMI operating system with central menu button and reduced number of buttons comes standard, while one of the options is a new head-up display that projects the most important information on the windshield. The MMI touch system combines a hard drive navigation system with the convenience of touchpad input. The driver can use the touchpad to perform numerous functions, such as using his or her finger to write the letters of the destination or the digits of the telephone number.

The Audi A7 Sportback comes with powerful and cultivated V6 gasoline engines whose efficiency sets impressive new standards in the vehicle class. The power output of the A7 Sportback 3.0 TFSI for example is 300 bhp. All engines use Audi’s innovative thermal management system, a recuperation system and a start-stop system. The Audi A7 Sportback is slated for its Singapore debut in the second quarter of 2011.