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.

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

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