New Audi concept previews next TT

Audi has given advance warning of a new “compact sports car” concept that will be gracing the halls of the Detroit Auto Show next month. Oddly, aside from that descriptor this concept doesn’t yet have a name.

All we have is a brief press release and a few sketch drawings. Forget the bits about its being a “sports crossover” with “high ground clearance” and focus on the bits that say “further development of the quattro design language“.

We think we’re being given a teaser of the next TT. Inspiration for the front-end styling of the new TT is likely to come from the singleframe grille treatment and dual headlights you see here.

If you’ve got a good imagination; picture a couple of upper case Ts stacked on top of each other, tip them on their side and there you have it, the dual headlights of this concept. You can’t fool us Audi!

It’s expected the TT will be released in the first half of next year. So, we’ll get this concept in January, followed by a bona fide TT preview at the Geneva show in March and voila, your new TT is here.

The new Audi show car – a compact sports car in a new look

• Crossover for all roads and tracks, for everyday driving and recreational use
  
• Pioneering design, with precise lines and taut surfaces
  
• Audi to present the two-door car at the NAIAS in Detroit

Ingolstadt/Detroit, 2013-12-06. Sporty, compact and versatile: With these attributes, the new Audi show car is making its debut in January 2014 at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. The two-door model with its high ground clearance is a crossover – a car for all roads and tracks, for everyday driving and sporty recreational use.

The show car is a systematic development of the Audi design language. It combines a host of visual elements from future sports car models with the Audi-typical allroad concept and independent “Shooting Brake” body form.

Measuring 4.20 meters (13.78 feet) in length, the Audi has a powerful road stance. Precise and clearly drawn lines as well as geometric surfaces are combined to create a sculptured, clear design form. It is almost as if the outer skin of the two-door car has been modeled from a solid piece, from the Singleframe grille and striking side tornado line to the taut, coupé-like rear. The overhangs are short; the roof line is low and it ends in a strong C pillar. The pronounced horizontal body line and the large 19-inch wheels emphasize the impression of concentrated energy.

The show car is a compelling blend of form and function. The characteristic allroad design features reduce the volume and underscore its offroad character. The aluminum underbody guard at front and rear emphasizes the width and protects the car off road.

Design elements that are typical of e-tron models, such as the ribs in the Singleframe grille and in the side air inlets, fit in harmoniously with the overall design concept. The dual headlights and the honeycomb-structured Singleframe grille indicate the further development of the quattro design language which Audi already presented with its Sport quattro concept show car in September of this year at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt.