Measuring 195.6 inches long with a 115.2-inch wheelbase, the Audi A7 Sportback is already a large and spacious five-door coupe-style sedan. But it's about to get even larger.

Our spy photographers have spotted a stretched Audi A7 prototype being tested in Germany. Compared to the regular A7 Sportback, the prototype sports a longer wheelbase and extended rear doors. This, then, is our first look at the new Audi A7 Long Wheelbase being built for China, where there's a high demand for long-wheelbase sedans with extra rear legroom, built as a sign of status rather than the need to stretch out in comfort.

Audi already sells the A4 L and A6 L in China, and the flagship A8 is sold exclusively with a long wheelbase in the People's Republic. You can even buy stretched L versions of the Q2 and Q5, and now the A7 is getting the long-wheelbase treatment.

The standard Audi A7 Sportback already offers 37 inches of rear legroom, which will of course increase in the long-wheelbase variant. Built by SAIC Volkswagen in Shanghai as part of a joint venture between VW and SAIC, the A7 L will be the first China-made car to utilize the new MLB Evo platform.

Stretching the wheelbase has meant the Audi A7's coupe-style sloping roofline has been sacrificed, though, giving it the impression of a more traditional sedan, which should appeal to the Chinese market where sedans are still big business.

Under the hood, the Audi A7 L will be powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo engine with outputs of 187 hp and 236 lb-ft and 242hp and 273 lb-ft of torque, matching the outputs of China's A7 Sportback. Production will take place at SAIC VW's revamped plant in Shanghai with an annual capacity of 60,000 units. The Audi A7 L is expected to debut in China in the first half of 2021.