Audi will be joining the electrification movement with greater enthusiasm soon, and even the brand's sole supercar is not immune. But not all cars are ready to be electric just yet. The R8 must yet have a fitting finale for its sonorous supercar, and the 2023 Audi A4 needs to be updated soon, not in another five years. Thus, Ingolstadt's engineers have been testing the new A4 (as well as a few other new arrivals) in icy conditions to ensure that everything works as it should. Our spy photographers have now captured images of the new A4 Avant (Audi speak for station wagon), and there's a decent number of details to take in.

At the front, a new headlight design is seen with a more rounded outer edge, but it still retains an inner step. However, the LED graphics of the lights appear to be new, as do the slim intakes below them. Either this is a model without fog lights or these have been relocated to within the main headlight clusters, but either way, the lower grille is sharper and the Singleframe grille is now slimmer with much bigger hexagonal mesh. In a time when hideously huge grilles are all the rage from Lexus to BMW, this is refreshing.

The sides of the vehicle reveal little thanks to that extensive camouflage, but we'll hazard an early guess and say that the RS4, whenever that eventually arrives, will gain upright vents aft of the front wheel arches a la RS3. The wheels are test units and won't be seen on anything but a prototype, just as is the case with those weird taillights. Slim roof rails and a subtle roof spoiler are also visible, along with a dual-exit exhaust, but this model's eventual replacement will switch to electric power.

For now, we're still expecting a mix of gasoline and diesel engines, but there has been no confirmation that the manual gearbox will stick around. Finally, our spy photographer has pointed out that the car has swelled in size and is approaching that of the A6. The last combustion-powered A4 is sure shaping up to be a good one, but the only wagon we're likely to see in America is the A4 allroad pseudo-SUV.