Try our newest merchandise
Simply once you thought Audi had turned its again on sports activities vehicles – having axed the R8 supercar, the TT coupe and roadster and the A5 coupe and cabriolet – the German luxurious model has now previewed an all-new electrical efficiency automotive that may successfully change all 4 of these two-door fashions.
What’s extra, the smooth new Audi Idea C present automotive you see right here will enter manufacturing nearly unchanged in simply two years, with the premium auto model confirming the minimalist two-seat folding hardtop convertible will stay devoted to the idea when it reaches showrooms in 2027.
Certainly, Audi says the one variations between the Idea C, which was revealed in Milan in a single day, and the manufacturing automotive would be the addition of door handles, sensors and some different minor tweaks.
CarExpert can prevent hundreds on a brand new automotive. Click on right here to get an excellent deal.
The Idea C not solely previews an all-new sports activities automotive from Audi, which doesn’t provide a coupe or convertible of any kind proper now, but additionally heralds a brand new design language the Ingolstadt model will roll out underneath the course of its new chief artistic officer Massimo Frascella, who assumed the function in June 2024.
Designed with the theme of “radical simplicity”, the Idea C seems to be like no different earlier Audi sports activities automotive, however incorporates styling cues from the long-lasting, Bauhaus-inspired TT, in addition to the R8 and even historic Auto Union race vehicles.
It might appear to be a coupe however the Idea C is definitely a two-seat roadster with an electrically retractable folding hardtop roof – a primary for Audi, though whether or not that carries over to the showroom model is but to be confirmed.
There’s no rear window, as with the unconventional Jaguar Kind 00 and manufacturing fashions just like the Polestar 4 and 5, and instead are three horizontal slats – certainly one of them housing a 3rd brake gentle.
Using on a brief 2568mm wheelbase and measuring simply 4520mm lengthy and solely 1285mm excessive – however a broad 1970mm large – the Idea C is nearer in measurement to the R8 Spyder than the TT Roadster.
Audi says the rear-wheel drive Idea C has a “gross weight” of 1690kg, which isn’t too dangerous for an EV and on par with the outdated R8 Spyder, and that each rear-drive and all-wheel drive choices could possibly be doable.
It additionally says the Idea C, which rolls on 21-inch wheels, will help ultra-fast charging due to an 800-volt electrical system.
Maybe the most important query is what platform Audi’s smooth new electrical sports activities automotive will likely be primarily based on. It’s doable it’ll borrow its underpinnings from the brand new electrical Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman due in 2026, even when it’s tuned to be barely much less sporty than the Zuffenhausen duo.
The inside of the Idea C is simply as uncluttered as its exterior, with a minimalist cabin comprising bodily controls comprised of actual anodised aluminium and even a metallic moderately than plastic steering wheel badge.
The minimalist strategy, which Audi describes as “shy tech”, extends to the ten.4-inch tablet-style infotainment touchscreen, which may be folded neatly into the dashboard like in older Audi fashions.
“Radical simplicity is on the coronary heart of our strategy. We obtain readability by lowering every thing to the important,” mentioned Mr Frascella.
Audi has loads of different new fashions to launch earlier than it launches its new electrical sports activities automotive in 2027.
It says that by the top of this 12 months it’ll have launched greater than 20 new fashions inside 24 months, making its product portfolio the youngest within the premium section.
After launching replacements for the A6 and Q3, which can embody the brand new Q3 Sportback e-hybrid, Audi will launch a brand new entry-level EV that will likely be produced in Ingolstadt from 2026, plus extra efficiency fashions from Audi Sport and its hotly anticipated entry into System 1.
“Preparations for our begin in System 1 are transferring at full pace,” mentioned Audi CEO Gernot Döllner.
“We stay up for giving all followers a concrete preview of what to anticipate from us in System 1 beginning subsequent 12 months.”
MORE: All the things Audi
