Audi brass confirms production for both the quattro concept and a TT crossover

By Nick Jaynes February 10, 2014

Audi quattro concept has been around the block a little while now. Aside from its original incarnation, Audi has also shown it with laser headlights.

Since the initial debut of the stunning and sturdy looking fastback coupe, Audi’s brass has been debating sending the quattro concept into production. While, in concept form, it packs a 700-horsepower hybrid system capable of 0 to 62 mph in 3.7 seconds, most of us figured it would eventually become the next A5.

Now it seems neither reality is coming to fruition. Audi chief engineer Ulrich Hackenberg told Top Gear that the quattro will indeed be going into production. Instead of being a high-flying supercar or a mid-range A5, it will instead be marketed as a grand tourer wedged between the all-new TT and the next-gen R8.

Audi had long passed on a production quattro due to its complicated and expensive powertrain. Delightfully, designers have decided to simplify the equation and bolt up some cheaper powerplants under the hood, making a mass-market release much more reasonable when it hits showrooms in 2016 or 2017.

This, thankfully, wasn’t the only tidbit Hackenberg let slip. He also admitted that it’s likely the German automaker will be making a crossover variant of the all-new TT, which is set to debut next month at Geneva. What might a TT crossover look like? Think the Allroad Shooting Brake we saw in Detroit last month. We wonder if one of these cars could feature Audi’s new electric quattro system. If so, such a system could save weight and improve performance.

“I can imagine the TT has much more potential than we have used up to now,” Hackenberg said. “That’s why we did this Allroad concept. The trend is to smaller crossovers. So for example you could do a crossover TT. It would have a big group of fans.”

So is an Audi TT crossover something you might want to buy? Tell us in the comments.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Photo Galleries

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Nick Jaynes is the Automotive Editor for Digital Trends. He developed a passion for writing about cars working his way…

Cars

Audi TT will get the ax to make way for electric cars — and the R8 may be next

Audi TT 20th Anniversary Edition

After just over 20 years, the Audi TT will be killed off to make room for more electric cars. The news, which came out of the German automaker's annual shareholder meeting, was reported by Bloomberg and other outlets and confirmed in the transcript of that meeting. Executives also cast doubt on the future of the R8 as Audi looks to shift from internal combustion to electric power.

Audi is "shedding old baggage," Chief Financial Officer Alexander Seitz said at the meeting. He said internal-combustion cars are getting more expensive to develop due to stricter emissions standards, while electric cars "are getting cheaper." That's leading Audi to take a hard look at its current lineup of cars -- including the TT.

Cars

Best electric car charger deals: $100 off home charging stations

The handle of the Grizzl-E EV charger plugged into a vehicle.

A few years ago, electric vehicles were pretty rare or cost a fortune, but with more and more of the larger car brands getting into the game, there are a lot of excellent and even budget-friendly choices nowadays. That said, the electrical network for charging your cars might not be that widespread, so instead you'll have to rely on charging your car at home. Luckily, there are a lot of excellent car chargers at a discount, so if you've just bought an EV or want to upgrade your current charging solution, be sure to check out our favorite deals below.
Shockflo EV charger — $205, was $220

This EV charger by Shockflo is a Level 2 EV charger, which offers six times faster charging than a standard charger. It delivers 24 miles with just one hour of charging, and it can act as a mobile charger you can throw in the trunk or be mounted to a wall. It has an LCD display with useful information like charging rate, voltage, and charging time, as well as LED indicator lights that lets you know charging progress and errors.

Cars

Mercedes-Benz EQG: range, price, release date, and more

Concept image of the larger electric G-Wagon

The G-Class is going electric. We already knew that Mercedes-Benz was working on an electric, small-size G-Wagon, but it looks like the company is also working on a larger G-Class SUV, in the form of the EQG. In fact, Mercedes has gone as far as to show off a concept version of the off-roader.

While there's much we don't know about what will become the production model of the EQG, Mercedes has also shared a lot about it. Curious about whether the Mercedes-Benz EQG could be the EV for you? Here's everything we know so far.
Design
Fear not -- the EQG will retain many of the design aspects of the G-Class that you already know and love but with a modern face-lift. The EQG will keep the boxy design that gives the G-Class a classic look but with some additional modern styling, at least if the concept version is anything to go by.