The company’s successor to the well-received Prologue coupé, which was first seen at last year’s Los Angeles motor show, has been created to show how its latest design language will be applied to future estate models, most notably the next A6 Avant.
The two Prologue concepts share a wide, hexagonal grille, angular matrix laser headlights, prominent air ducts decorated with LED graphics, a contoured bonnet and shapely front wings.
However, their similarities end at the trailing edge of the front doors with the Avant receiving an additional set of rear doors, an extended glasshouse, muscular rear wheel arches, a longer roof, more upright pillars, a steeply angled tailgate and tailpipes integrated into the bumper.
At 5110mm in length, 1970mm in width and 1400mm in height, the Prologue Avant is marginally longer, wider and higher than the Prologue coupé. Like its two-door sibling, the new five-door has a 2990mm wheelbase and rolls on 22in wheels shod with 285/30 profile rubber.
The contemporary dashboard and touchscreen controls preview cabin architecture planned for Audi’s future model line-up.
Power for the Prologue Avant comes from a lightly retuned version of the plug-in diesel-electric hybrid system earmarked for the second-generation Q7, due later this year.
The concept uses Audi’s familiar twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine and an electric motor to produce a combined 449bhp, channelled to all four wheels. Simulations suggest 0-62mph in 5.1sec, 176.5mpg economy and CO2 emissions of 43g/km.
The Prologue Avant also features what Audi calls “high-end series production chassis technology”. This includes air suspension with adaptive damping and four-wheel steering.
Also read: Audi Prologue Avant concept to be unveiled at Geneva show