What's all this about?
The Audi TT is back! Well... sort of. All right, it's not. But it's the thought that counts.
What on earth do you mean?
Well, we could have just said this is an electric follow-up to the mesmeric Audi R8. Or, indeed, a four-rings-toting alternative to the impending zero-emission successors to the Porsche 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman twins.
Could you start again, please, because you're making little conventional sense?
Sigh. OK. This striking machine is called the Audi Concept C, which is due to go to the IAA motorshow in Munich next week - but not before the covers came off it at an event in Milan, the city of style and fashion. An all-electric vehicle, it is slated to go on sale in pretty much this form (possibly including a rear windscreen before it gets to market, though) in 2027 and the look of it will inform all of Audi's future products.
But while its simplistic design - penned by former Jaguar Land Rover doyen Massimo Frascella, who is now the chief creative officer at Audi - is slated for products yet to be released, it also harks back to vehicles which have come from the German company and its forerunners. This includes that narrow, vertical frame grille at the front, which is a throwback to the Auto Union Type C competition car of the 1930s.
However, its overall shape and form is most reminiscent of something sitting between the old TT and the R8. This is because, with the demise of the internal-combustion versions of both of these two cars, Audi has been left without a dedicated sports-car model in its entire line-up for the first time in the 21st century. So the Concept C would fit the bill - and the reason we mentioned the two 718 Porsches is because the production version of the Audi would likely share the hardware that underpins the forthcoming EV replacements of those cars.
But it won't be called TT, even when it goes on sale in 2027. That much we do know.
At least you're more coherent now. How come it won't be called TT?
It'll be too big, too powerful and too expensive for that; looking at its size and shape, you have to think of it as somewhere between the old TT and the R8, so Gernot Döllner, Audi's CEO, has said that it'll get a new name all of its own before it heads into the company's worldwide showrooms. Still, looks nice, doesn't it?
It does indeed. But it's quite a simple shape, isn't it?
It is, because it represents Audi's 'strive for clarity' corporate ethos that will see exterior design lines toned down to a minimum, while similarly the interiors of its cars will be pared-back and minimalistic, yet ergonomically correct and still built to a high quality. The Concept C's cabin, for instance, has satisfying aluminium switchgear and 'shy' technology - the main 10.4-inch display screen can be folded away into the centre console. It's also the first Audi convertible or cabriolet that has a retractable hard-top mechanism.
All very impressive. What do the Audi bigwigs say about it?
Speaking at the unveiling of the car in Milan, Döllner added: "Our history is marked by bold leaps in innovation and state-of-the-art technology combined with an uncompromising focus on clarity in design. Our most legendary models perfectly embody this combination.
"The way we design our vehicles is the way we will shape our company. Clarity is an ethos and the compass that will guide Audi through the times ahead. The phase of taking stock is over. Now is the time to look to the future and pick up speed. We are focusing on what really matters to set standards in design and quality. The foundation for realigning the company has been laid."
Matt Robinson - 3 Sep 2025
