Before introducing the R8 supercar in 2008, Audi was the Necco wafer of luxury carmakers. Plain-looking, flat, and bland, most of Audi's lineup had never matured past the dressed-up Volkswagens they started with in the 1970s. That's not saying they weren't nice cars, or even better values against the Mercedes and BMWs of their time. My high school French teacher (circa 2000) drove a pearl white A4 quattro, and while it was by far the best car in the faculty lot, you could close your eyes and forget what it looked like.
Now, like Korean upstarts Hyundai and Kia, Audi is in the midst of a design renaissance, or rather, a domination. Those studded LED parking lamps that Lexus, Saab, and Chrysler have copied all came from Audi. The big-mouth grill that debuted on the once-homely A6 sedan is now a big trademark across the line (and has influenced the latest Chevrolets). But Audi doesn't want an artistic reputation — it wants to be the largest luxury automaker in the world. And to get there, it has given us stunning designs like the new A7.
The so-called "four door coupe" — a low-cut sedan with a rakish roofline and tight back seat — was a straight flush for Mercedes when it introduced the CLS for 2006. It offered less space and cost considerably more than a similar E-Class, but wow. You stopped dead when one rumbled past on Newbury Street. Jaguar and Volkswagen fired back with the XF and CC "coupes," and while BMW and Honda won't admit it, their curvy X6 and Accord Crosstour CUVs share that same wild, impractical feel.
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