Skip to main content

Audi chief confirms third TT bodystyle … but will it be a crossover?

Audi has all but confirmed it will expand the TT lineup with a sporty crossover in the not-too-distant future.

Speaking at the launch of the third-gen TT coupe in Spain, Audi development chief Ulrich Hackenberg confirmed a third variant of the TT will be introduced shortly. He did not provide specific details but he revealed the TT offroad concept (pictured) that bowed in Beijing last April “provides an insight into how we might envisage a new model in a future TT family.”

The production-bound TT crossover is expected to be nearly identical to the TT offroad concept. It will borrow styling cues such as angular lights on both ends and pronounced wheel arches from the TT coupe but it will pack four doors, a noticeably higher ground clearance as well as plastic trim over the rocker panels and the wheel arches.

Related: New TT driven

Inside, the TT coupe’s driver-focused dashboard and innovative fully digital instrument cluster will be carried over to the crossover. Similarly, the soft-roader will share the bulk of its gasoline- and diesel-burning engines with its two-door sibling.

Audi has previously announced the star of its booth at next month’s Paris Motor Show will be the topless TT, meaning the crossover will likely be presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March of next year.  When it lands, the rugged TT will fight head-to-head against the BMW X4 and the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque.

Editors' Recommendations

Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
2022 Audi e-tron GT first drive review: This slot car needs no track
Audi e-tron GT front angle

Audi’s e-tron nameplate started life as a shrunken, R8-bodied concept that broke cover at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. The all-electric supercar touted impressive tech for the time, including four electric motors, a 42-kWh battery, 156-mile range, and regenerative braking. But it was a full decade from the e-tron’s conceptual debut to Audi’s 2019 e-tron, its first series-production all-electric. In that time, pure EVs moved from novelty to mainstream, and Audi was no longer an alternative energy trendsetter. Now the German automaker is moving quickly to recover lost ground.

By the end of this year, Audi’s two-car EV lineup will swell to five -- the most exciting being a four-door coupe dubbed e-Tron GT. With prices starting at $99,900 (before factoring in a $7,500 federal tax credit), the e-tron GT will vie for Tesla’s Model S market share alongside its platform-mate, the Porsche Taycan. We spent a couple of hours of quality time with Audi’s standard e-tron GT before sliding behind the wheel of the hotter, pricier RS model for a quick tour of the Malibu canyons.
Design and Interior
On paper, it seems foolish for Volkswagen Auto Group to allow both Porsche and Audi to occupy the same, still-niche segment, but a visual comparison proves the two EVs are aiming for different buyers.

Read more
Audi’s electric 2022 Q4 E-Tron packs big tech, lots of space in compact package
audi previews 2022 q4 e tron compact electric crossover

First presented in 2019, the Audi Q4 E-Tron concept has nearly completed its transition to becoming a production model. It will join the full-size E-Tron and the recently introduced E-Tron GT sport sedan when it makes its full debut later in 2021.

Don't let the funky orange, black, and white livery trick your mind; It's camouflage applied specifically to keep the full exterior design hidden. We can nonetheless discern key elements like the lights, which stylists have tweaked over the past two or so years, and the proportions, which are unusual. First of all, the front end is a lot shorter than we're used to seeing. Audi was able to achieve this because an electric motor requires less space than a four-cylinder or a V6 engine.

Read more
Audi’s electric 2022 RS E-Tron GT is a concept that escaped the drawing board
2022 Audi E-Tron GT

Audi traveled to the 2018 edition of the Los Angeles auto show to introduce a head-turning concept called E-Tron GT. Shortly after the unveiling, we learned that the sedan would reach production without major changes, and the company kept its promise. Unveiled online, the electric 2022 E-Tron GT is just as striking as the concept.

On a secondary level, it brings full electrification to the Audi Sport range for the first time. It's proudly positioned as one of the division's flagship models, and it blazes the path that future sports cars will follow in the coming years.
Wait, that's a production car?

Read more