The S7 is one of four new, large, high-performance Audis, joining the saloon and estate S6 models and the luxury S8, all using a new twin-turbo V8 engine rather than the naturally aspirated V10 of the previous S6 and S8. The unit is claimed to improve mpg by up to 25%, although a large turbo petrol engine, even with clever cylinder deactivation technology that cuts four of the cylinders when under lighter loading, is still not very efficient.
This is the first S7, as the executive Sportback model only recently joined the Audi line-up, and it slots between rival BMW and Mercedes products, as there’s a 6-series Grand Coupe and a CLS equal distance above and below for price and power, but not to compete with this £60,000 and 420hp S7.
It’s a pricey but spacious and luxurious piece of kit that’s also obscenely rapid, but a 30.5% RV and sub-30mpg official economy figure are hard to justify in the face of increasingly impressive high-power diesel alternatives.
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