- Audi kicked off a new design era this week with a concept car
- The Audi Concept C is a successor to the famous TT sports car
Automakers can be a bit like sports teams. They have glory eras. They have slumps. They periodically reset the roster and retool around a new strategy.
Audi had a good run in the early 2000s, and it started with a sensational rookie. The 1999 Audi TT took a brand known mostly to rally racing fans and made it part of the global road car performance conversation. Built from model years 1999 to 2023, the TT was all arcs, like the Volkswagen Beetle’s athlete cousin.
It gave Audi a reputation for on-road performance cars and made the R8 supercar conceivable. Its curvy look played into future Audi sedans and helped the A4 become a rival to the BMW 3 Series.
In recent years, however, Audi has had some uninspiring seasons. Car enthusiasts still love the RS 6 Avant (fast wagons are a thing for us), and the quattro all-wheel-drive (AWD) system still grips like Gorilla Glue. But it’s been a while since Audi had a new design that quickened the pulses of car lovers.
It’s time.
Sports teams can sell tickets by winning or by hinting that future wins are coming. Audi’s got a new draft pick. The brand yesterday unveiled a sleek concept car meant to kick off a new design revolution and win back fans who’ve drifted away. They’re not calling it TT this time. Yet. For now, it’s the Audi Concept C. But Audi executives lean so heavily on the legacy of that swoopy 2-door in discussing the concept that we fully expect it to appear under the TT name, likely around model year 2027.
‘Radical Simplicity’
- Audi calls its new design language “radical simplicity”
- It takes inspiration from some historically significant Audi models
Audi intends for the Concept C to be the first example of a new design scheme. The car “embodies the brand’s new design philosophy and paves the way for the future,” the brand says. That’s the kind of language an automaker uses when it plans a new look that will filter through everything it builds.
This one takes inspiration from two historically important cars — one you likely remember and one much older. The TT lineage is evident in the proportions — sweeping arcs, wheels pushed to the corners, and a teardrop greenhouse.
However, Audi says it also took inspiration from the 1936 Auto Union Type C. That open-wheel racer had a thin vertical grille and long sheet metal flanks behind the driver. It racked up an impressive racing record before World War 2.
Combine the two, and you get something like the Concept C. It’s electric, so the grille is false. But it’s clearly inspired by the shape of the pre-war “silver arrows” racers of German history.
The greenhouse is all-metal from the windows back, with just a few slats for rear visibility (we assume there are cameras to make up for the near-lack of a rear window). The headlights use four lighting elements as if to mimic the four rings of Audi’s logo.
The concept uses Audi’s first retractable metal roof, so buyers don’t have to debate between coupe or convertible.
Gas and Electric Options, Minimalist Cabin
- Audi will build both internal combustion and electric versions
- A new “shy tech” philosophy means a spare cabin with a fold-away touchscreen
Audi has offered nearly no performance details. Industry publication Automotive News reports that Audi will build the model with both gas-powered and electric drivetrains.
Inside, it couldn’t be a more severe departure from Audi’s recent design offerings. Some current Audi products offer up to four screens in the front. The Concept C has just two, one of which folds away.
The driver faces a simple flat display. A central touchscreen for infotainment folds away into the dashboard when not needed. While rivals are continually building bigger and bigger screens, Audi has gone with a comparatively modest 10.4-inch version.
Internal controls, Audi says, are machined from anodized aluminum and designed to produce distinct tactile clicks when used – a welcome development for those tired of parent company Volkswagen’s reliance on smooth capacitive touch controls.
