Audi has given the green light to its first MPV, with sources saying it will become part of the current A3 family.
It will probably be offered in five and seven-seat configurations and could be badged ‘V4’.
The A3’s MQB architecture offers the flexibility to build models with an elevated driving position and the new car will probably use the longer rear overhang of the MQB’s saloon version to host a third row of seats.
Industry paper ANE has reported that a concept version has been built, but Audi bosses are yet to decide whether to reveal it at September’s Frankfurt motor show.
Audi has long struggled with the MPV format. The high-roof Roadjet concept was first shown in 2006 at the Detroit show but it didn’t make any further progress.
Last summer, now-departed Audi sales and marketing chief Peter Schwarzenbauer told Autocar the traditional MPV “was a boring concept” but that an Audi with “six or seven seats” was a possibility.
It could, however, be three years before the high-roof Audi reaches showrooms.
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