It wasn’t long ago that Audi boss, Markus Duesmann, told Germany’s Manager Magazin that the midsize A4 will ditch the internal combustion engine by 2023. As such, the next-gen model that’s seen here (and due in 2023) represents that last fuel-powered generation of the A4 with an electric model due after that. So, will this generation get all the bells and whistles to give it a proper send-off, or will it be business as usual?

This is obviously, the A4 Avant, and it’s the first time we’ve seen any next-gen prototype of the A4. It appears to have the production body and production headlights, however the rear lights are clearly decoys. The front end appears to have a cleaner look and not taking a play from BMW’s book is working well here, as the grille doesn’t seem to be any larger or more obnoxious than it already was. There is, however, a new smaller air dam below the grille that gives the car a bit of an aggressive appearance.

Outside of this, most of the A4 won’t change as it shifts into the next generation. The body lines will change a bit, and the roof might slope down a bit more in the rear, but it will be unmistakably an A4 Avant. Powertrains, on the other hand will be a completely different story. As its last hurrah, you can expect the best Audi can offer in terms of performance. Next and final generation gas and diesel engines will be offered, but most if not all will feature some kind of electrification. It’s also possible an electric E-Tron model will happen sometime to ease the transition and an all-electric range of A4 models at the turn of the decade.

Moving beyond the standard A4 lineup and the potential for an A4 E-Tron, we also know that the RS4 will be offered as a plug-in hybrid and it could also be offered as an all-electric model as well. This is the first batch of spy shots of the next-gen A4, and it won’t be fully revealed until sometime in late-2022, so expect to see more of it between now and then.