Just two years ago, Audi had two sports cars in its lineup: the TT and the R8. Now, it has zero. With no halo car to point towards, the German carmaker feels like a bit of a lost brand, now best known for fumbling to decide what to name its latest forgettable EV. The company plans to right that wrong today with the introduction of a new, TT-esque concept. Pictures of the two-door coupe have leaked ahead of tonight’s reveal, and it looks… excellent?
This concept car, originally leaked by Audi Canada’s social channel over the weekend before being taken down, takes on the TT’s general silhouette, with a tight cabin and a swooping roof that culminates at the rear. Its proportions are far more dramatic, however, with bigger wheels and larger overhangs. It feels like the first truly distinctive design from Audi in years.
Then there’s that nose. As Autocar points out, the vertical opening is reminiscent of Auto Union’s Grand Prix cars of the 1930s. But the squared off shape also takes influence from Audi’s Avus concept from 1991. The thin headlights are a popular trend with concepts and production cars alike; the whole thing reminds me of the “Mimic” monsters from that Tom Cruise movie, Edge of Tomorrow. And I love it.
Being a leak, there’s no word on specs (or even a name) for this concept, though the internet seems to believe it’ll be fully electric. Going by the windshield wipers, the full interior, and the real side mirrors, it seems pretty close to production, too. In an interview last month with German magazine Bild (and translated by Motor1), Audi CEO Gernot Döllner called this concept the “TT Moment 2.0,” describing it as a “highly emotional sports car.” He also said a production version would arrive within the next two years.
Instead of calling the car an outright TT replacement, Döllner told Bild this new car would be “something in between” a TT and the dearly departed R8. That explains the longer wheelbase and wider track. It also makes a lot of sense—having two dedicated sports cars in Audi’s lineup wasn’t sustainable for the brand, so combining that task into one vehicle is an apt solution. As cool as an Audi-skinned Lamborghini Temerario sounds, it’s almost certainly not happening. It’s either this or nothing, Audi fans.
I’m a longtime believer in halo cars. When a brand has a car that customers can look up to and strive for, it gets them in the door and makes them fans of a company’s overall ethos. Halo cars are good internally, too. Engineers and designers can lean on such a model to develop more striking design cues and better performance. Even if this car is electric, it’s better than nothing at all. What’s that saying? A rising tide lifts all boats. That sorta makes sense in this situation, right?
In any case, the world will know a lot more about this Audi concept later today, when the company releases more information. Keep an eye out here for updates.
Man, that is fugly!
Looks like the Veloster from the B pillar back
Wow, the new Jag looks a bit different in each color. Being a car designer in 2025 must be hard.
Stupid enormous wheels and a ghastly front end. Brill.
Ugly as hell…mainly that front end which is one of the worst I’ve ever seen…reminds me of some newer bimmer front ends…the squared off corners are just horrible. I just threw up…this is like Jaguar (that’s still worse, even worse still is the cYbErJuNkTrUcK: the worst and ugliest vehicle EVER made)
I think the people at Jaguar’s design department would like a word……
Needs iRobot spherical wheels.
You say halo, and I say goodbye.
So I guess a Hapsburg Jaw is the new front end style everyone’s using.
Weird.
More pics have been released-
https://www.netcarshow.com/audi/2025-c_concept/
It looks so heavy from quite a few angles. Like ponderously heavy.
I’ve been thinking about this one since this morning. It does remind me of the Jag, but I actually think there’s a lot of divergence between the 2. This one I think actually does look quite good. There is a level of finesse in the deign that winds up being considered, and properly detailed, which turns what is a similar shape into a much more successful design. The detailing on the front is clean, but it’s taken in a way that there is a more considered approach than the jag, which seems flat and blocky in way where there isn’t really depth to the surface. This does have more treatment of the surface and depth, and even if it has a sharp, blocky form from the side, a lot of this car is swoopy, and subtly curved in a way that the Jag just isn’t. To me this feels like a very Industrial Design like approach, much in the way Polestar seems to approach their shapes and aesthetics.
To me, I think this as a sale model machined out of nice stainless would be incredible to touch.
Good grief, that is hideous! For anyone wanting a *real, proper* Audi TTRS, I’m putting mine up for sale! 2013, 6MT.