- Audi kicked off a brand new design period this week with an idea automotive
- The Audi Idea C is a successor to the well-known TT sports activities automotive
Automakers could be a bit like sports activities groups. They’ve glory eras. They’ve slumps. They periodically reset the roster and retool round a brand new technique.
Audi had a very good run within the early 2000s, and it began with a sensational rookie. The 1999 Audi tt took a model identified largely to rally racing followers and made it a part of the worldwide street automotive efficiency dialog. Constructed from mannequin years 1999 to 2023, the TT was all arcs, just like the Volkswagen Beetle’s athlete cousin.
It gave Audi a popularity for on-road efficiency automobiles and made the R8 r8 supercar conceivable. Its curvy look performed into future Audi sedans and helped the A4 grow to be a rival to the BMW 3 Collection.
Lately, nonetheless, Audi has had some uninspiring seasons. Automotive lovers nonetheless love the RS 6 BC (quick wagons are a factor for us), and the quattro all-wheel-drive (AWD) system nonetheless grips like Gorilla Glue. Nevertheless it’s been some time since Audi had a brand new design that quickened the pulses of automotive lovers.
It’s time.
Sports activities groups can promote tickets by profitable or by hinting that future wins are coming. Audi’s acquired a brand new draft choose. The model yesterday unveiled a glossy idea automotive meant to kick off a brand new design revolution and win again followers who’ve drifted away. They’re not calling it TT this time. But. For now, it’s the Audi Idea C. However Audi executives lean so closely on the legacy of that swoopy 2-door in discussing the idea that we absolutely count on it to seem underneath the TT title, seemingly round mannequin yr 2027.
‘Radical Simplicity’
- Audi calls its new design language “radical simplicity”
- It takes inspiration from some traditionally vital Audi fashions
Audi intends for the Idea C to be the primary instance of a brand new design scheme. The automotive “embodies the model’s new design philosophy and paves the best way for the long run,” the model says. That’s the form of language an automaker makes use of when it plans a brand new look that may filter by all the things it builds.
This one takes inspiration from two traditionally necessary automobiles — one you seemingly bear in mind and one a lot older. The TT lineage is obvious within the proportions — sweeping arcs, wheels pushed to the corners, and a teardrop greenhouse.
Nonetheless, Audi says it additionally took inspiration from the 1936 Auto Union Sort C. That open-wheel racer had a skinny vertical grille and lengthy sheet steel flanks behind the motive force. It racked up a formidable racing file earlier than World Conflict 2.
Mix the 2, and also you get one thing just like the Idea C. It’s electrical, so the grille is fake. Nevertheless it’s clearly impressed by the form of the pre-war “silver arrows” racers of German historical past.
The greenhouse is all-metal from the home windows again, with just some slats for rear visibility (we assume there are cameras to make up for the near-lack of a rear window). The headlights use 4 lighting parts as if to imitate the 4 rings of Audi’s emblem.
The idea makes use of Audi’s first retractable steel roof, so patrons don’t need to debate between coupe or convertible.
Gasoline and Electrical Choices, Minimalist Cabin
- Audi will construct each inner combustion and electrical variations
- A brand new “shy tech” philosophy means a spare cabin with a fold-away touchscreen
Audi has supplied almost no efficiency particulars. Business publication Automotive Information stories that Audi will construct the mannequin with each gas-powered and electrical drivetrains.
Inside, it couldn’t be a extra extreme departure from Audi’s current design choices. Some present Audi merchandise supply as much as 4 screens within the entrance. The Idea C has simply two, certainly one of which folds away.
The motive force faces a easy flat show. A central touchscreen for infotainment folds away into the dashboard when not wanted. Whereas rivals are frequently constructing larger and greater screens, Audi has gone with a relatively modest 10.4-inch model.
Inner controls, Audi says, are machined from anodized aluminum and designed to supply distinct tactile clicks when used – a welcome growth for these uninterested in guardian firm Volkswagen’s reliance on easy capacitive contact controls.
