At the 2014 Paris Motor Show, Audi will continue its parade of TT variants with an intriguing new concept.
Following the redesigned TT coupe and TT Roadster (also set to debut in Paris), as well as the TT Offroad plug-in hybrid concept, the TT Sportback adds another body style to the mix, and a good-looking one at that.
Sportback is Audi-speak for hatchback, and this concept has one of those. However, it’s also got four doors, making it something of a little brother to the A7, and a potential “four-door coupe” competitor to the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class.
The Sportback features the same rounded roofline and fenders as the two-door TT. Designer seven managed to fit the car;s signature billet fuel filler in.
At the back, things are bit more angular, with a deckled that forms a rear spoiler sitting atop horizontal taillights. Two ovoid exhaust outlets are joined together by a similarly-shaped cutout.
Related: 2016 Audi TT and TT S first drive
The driver enters through a door with frameless glass, and is greeted by the same “virtual cockpit” layout found on production TT models, with all gauges and infotainment functions grouped in a cluster ahead of the steering wheel, and a slender, wing-shaped dashboard.
Putting a little bit of extra sport into the Sportback is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces 400 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. It’s connected to a seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission, and Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive.
Audi estimates a 0 to 62 mph time of 3.9 seconds, eclipsing the production TT S coupe’s 4.7 seconds, thanks to all of that extra power.
While Audi hasn’t confirmed the TT Sportback for production, it is reportedly planning to turn the TT into a family of models, just like Toyota has done with the Prius, and Land Rover is doing with the Discovery.
A production Sportback would give Audi buyers a flashier alternative to the A3 sedan, and capitalize on the current infatuation with four-door coupes, so it seems likely we’ll be seeing this one again.
