Audi has confirmed the A7 and S7 models will be discontinued in North America, and only the ultra-high-performance RS7 version will continue on with a 2026 model. The automaker issued a statement to Road & Track that explained the A7 and S7 would be replaced on the continent by the current A6 and its variants.
The current A6 is available as both a gas-powered TFSI model and an electric e-tron model. The gas-powered A6 only recently debuted and will soon be sold as a 2026 model in a traditional sedan body style. The A6 e-tron, though, debuted as a 2025 model and inherits the outgoing A7’s sportback body style.
The Audi A7 Was A Special Car
While the design of most Audi cars is a simple derivation of the four-ringed cars that came before them, there are a few models that have stood out with designs that broke the company’s mold. The TT is one of them. The R8 is another. And we would argue the A7 deserves to be in the same class.
Near the end of this millennium’s first decade, automakers, German ones in particular, became obsessed with something called the “four-door coupe.” It was a body style that essentially married the four doors of a sedan with the sloping roof and (usually) hatchback profile of a coupe. It made sense, as these new shapes were cheap and easy to build off the same platform as existing sedans, but were in all cases more attractive and sportier.
The A7 was Audi’s entrant in the four-door coupe battle. It competed with the likes of the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class and BMW Gran Coupe models. The A7, though, was the most attractive of the bunch thanks to Audi’s typical, elegant, and restrained design. While the front end looked similar to most Audi cars save for a unique headlight shape, things got more exciting after the b-pillar where the roof sloped sharply down and pinched off into a low spoiler atop the taillights.
Over the years, you could have had your A7 with a bevy of powertrains, including a turbocharged four-cylinder, naturally aspirated V6, supercharged V6, turbocharged and twin-turbo V6s, a twin-turbo V8, a diesel four-cylinder and V6, and even a plug-in hybrid powertrain. The A7 was also quickly followed by the sportier S7 and then topped with the ultimate RS7.
TopSpeed’s Take
We’re admittedly sad the A7 and S7 have been discontinued. They were stellar cars in the four-door coupe category and have retained their beauty and charm through several iterations and upgrades. But the question remains, why keep selling the RS7 in North America by itself?
The current RS7 uses a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine producing 621 horsepower. It’s an impressive beast by any measure. The RS6 Avant, though, is a station wagon that employs the same powertrain, is even more practical, and turns more heads, so why keep the RS7?
It could be the case that Audi has too many twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8s lying around and needs engine bays in which to put them. It could also be the case that the RS7 only sticks around for one model year before it, too, meets the axe. Regardless, the ending of the A7 line is one more passenger car we can throw on the pyre with so many sedans in the industry that have been discontinued, so automakers can sell more expensive SUVs. We raise our glass to you, A7; you deserve better.
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