Presented by head of design Marc Lichte the model shows a new styling direction for the brand in the large coupe.

The two-door four-seat coupe is shorter and flatter than today's production A8, with a length of 5.10 metres, wheelbase of 2.94 metres, width of 1.95 metres and height of 1.39 metres.

The Prologue gains a wider and lower version of Audi’s singleframe grille along with headlights that use Matrix laser technology. It also features 22-inch wheels widely flared wheel arches with 10-spoke alloys.

The interior is intended to resemble a luxurious lounge and is based on Gran Turismo design. The entire front of the instrument panel is a large touch display, and a portion of the user interface operates with a new type of OLED display made of organic LEDs.

The "butler" intelligent software programme identifies passengers based on their smartphones and adjusts the seats and climate control system according to their preferences. It also recommends music and route planning choices based the owner's preferences.

The interior also uses the Audi virtual cockpit future – an advanced development of the Audi virtual cockpit, with high-resolution displays and three display screens.

Under the bonnet is a 4.0 TFSI producing 605PS and 700Nm of torque, with an overboost function offering 750Nm. 0-100kph time is 3.7s.

However despite its prodigious power the show car is capable of returning up to 8.6l/100km combined, with CO2 emissions of 199g/km, helped by its new 48-volt subsystem of the vehicle's electrical system, which serves as a mild hybrid – Audi added that this technology will soon be introduced to its production cars. It also comes with an eight-speed tiptronic and quattro permanent all-wheel drive.

The Prologue also offers adaptive air suspension sport, with the controlled damping offering a large adjustment range between smooth rolling and very tight handling, and dynamic all-wheel steering with rear wheel steering angles of up to five degrees.