Road - Audi's latest

Among the more desirable cars at Frankfurt is this new Audi A7 Sportback. At its heart is the same twin-turbo V8 in the RS 6 Avant which gives the new RS 7 Sportback the same 3.9-second 0-62 mph acceleration potential with a top speed of 189 mph. Audi also reckons careful drivers could achieve up to 28.8 mpg. Some hope!

With the help of its two turbochargers, the 4 litre TFSI engine develops a fearsome 552 bhp and generates a massive 700 Nm of torque. The two twin-scroll turbochargers and intercooler are located inside the ‘V’ of the cylinder banks.

And if that ain’t enough, it has switchable flaps in the exhaust system. If that doesn’t tickle the lugholes sufficiently there is an optional ‘sports exhaust system’ on the options list.

Thanks to a ‘cylinder-on-demand system’ which shuts down the intake and exhaust valves of cylinders 2, 3, 5 and 8, the engine can run as a four-cylinder unit until the driver gives it the beans!

To cope with this, active engine mounts use out-of-phase counter-oscillations to compensate for the vibrations that occur during four-cylinder operation.

The quattro permanent all-wheel drive system incorporates torque vectoring, a self-locking centre differential with an elevated locking value and a ‘sport’ differential on the rear axle.

Adaptive air suspension is fitted as standard but there is an optional sports suspension alternative with Dynamic Ride Control (DRC) employing steel springs and three-way adjustable shock absorbers that are interconnected diagonally.

And to finish it all off, lurking behind the 20 inch rims are a set of six-piston callipers which are available in either black or red. And if you really want to be flash, carbon fibre-ceramic brake discs with anthracite grey callipers are available.

And the price? Well, that starts from £83,495!