The world has reacted to Audi’s new Concept C...and it’s a mixed bag. Dive into the comments of our social media posts, if you dare, but please wear a hard hat and steel-toe boots. We sat down with Audi CEO Gernot Döllner at the Munich motor show and grilled him on the new TT—or not TT, as it turns out.
“We are quite happy with the feedback. Some people have questioned solutions and features, but I think that’s positive, because you need discussion,” Döllner told us before doubling down on the fact that it will make production, and the car you see is “90% there.”
“During my time at Audi, I will only present concept cars that have a decision to be produced. We have a clear production decision for this car, and we are working on realizing it by 2027.”
OTHER STORIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:
Opinion: More sprints and shorter races aren’t the way to make Formula 1 more exciting
Audi vs. BMW vs. Merc: Which German carmaker has designed the best new-gen interior?
To the name, which we and pretty much everyone else hopefully predicted would be TT: “It sits almost precisely in the middle between TT and R8, so it’s not a successor to the TT—it will not have the TT name. We were so fast in developing the concept, we didn’t have time to find a name, so we called it Concept C,” Döllner said, shattering our dreams.
“To be honest, it could start with an R or be a name. Sometimes it’s easier to develop a car than find a name for it. By the way, it’s a fully-functional concept, street-legal—you’ll drive it soon.”
But here’s where it gets really interesting, because like every other manufacturer trying to make EVs interesting and engaging to drive, Audi has been working on a few things in the background: “We found that a virtual gearbox and sound really add something to driving an electric car. Even on the racetrack, I’m faster with a car with a virtual gearbox.”
“We’re developing it; I think we’ll have one. The company is quite open to finding innovative solutions in this area.”
As for the iconic five-cylinder engine in the RS3, it has a “limited shelf life” and won’t be updated to the Euro 7 emission standard. “Maybe it will come back virtually,” said Döllner, throwing us a bone.
And what about a new R8-based on the Lamborghini Temerario’s hybrid V8 twin-turbo platform? Don’t rule it out yet: “Of course, there’s room for another car, but we need to go step by step. First of all, I have to focus now on our core segments and carry this new design language to series production cars.”
Watch: New Audi TT walkaround
NOTE: This story first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
