Audi Roadjet Equals A5

The front half may be controversial, but Audi is going to build the Roadjet anyway, likely under the name A5, in 2008. It uses the next-gen A4 platform, a flexible component set that'll also serve the next A6 and the much-rumored BMW X3-fighting Q5. The Roadjet's H-point is 2.4 inches higher than the A4's and 2.4 inches lower than the Q7's.

The Roadjet's mission is flexible space rather than off-roadability, hence its long wheelbase and glassy cabin. In Europe, car/minivan crossovers are ultra-hot, but as yet there's been no premium entry in a market dominated by General Motors, Volkswagen, and Renault. VW has two entries, the vanlike seven-seat Touran and the Golf Plus, which is an elevated, rebodied Golf equipped with sliding rear seats.

The Roadjet was designed at Audi's California studio, but with an unprecedented level of cooperation with Ingolstadt's engineers, again a sign of its production intent. The next-gen A4 platform will maintain a four-link front suspension, but new transmissions enable the front wheels to be moved further forward relative to the drivetrain--nearly four inches, say insiders--in an attempt to reduce the old Audi nose-heavy feel and improve handling.

The Quattro versions' torque split is nominally rear-biased to further assist agility. And there's an optional active steering system like those of BMW and Lexus.