Audi A7 four-door hard-top cabrio

The blokes at Car say they've got the scoop on the upcoming Audi A7, including a convertible version depicted in the rendering on the right. Power is rumored to start with six cylinders across the range, with a V10-powered S7 and a twin-turbo V10-motivated RS7. Expect a variety of transmissions to be on offer as well, including manuals, automatics and dual-clutch gearboxes with six or seven speeds, along with the availability of quattro all-wheel-drive.

Sources have suggested that, while Audi will be behind the game in bringing a four-door coupe in the Mercedes CLS mold to market in the first half of 2010, it's got another segment-busting trick up it's sleeve: a full four-door convertible. And according to Car's illustrators, the A7 cabrio will feature a full retractable hard-top. Many have toyed with the idea of a four-door convertible – most recently arch-rival Mercedes with the Ocean Drive concept from Detroit '07 – but Audi may be the ones to actually revive the long-lost segment. Parade detail, here we come.