Audi plots sports coupé comeback with TT influence

Audi is considering a new halo model that captures the spirit of some of its most iconic sports cars — and the original TT is a key potential source of inspiration.

- FELIX PAGE

Having retired the TT and the R8 supercar in the past 18 months, Audi is currently without a dedicated two-door sports car in its line-up for the first time in decades. But CEO Gernot Döllner has suggested that a re-entry to this segment could form part of an extensive overhaul of the company's product line-up and positioning.

Asked at the company's recent 2024 financial results presentation whether he would consider reintroducing a sports car to the brand's portfolio, Döllner said: "For sure. That's part of the brand's DNA and we have to find the right way, timing-wise, to integrate it into our portfolio."

He suggested it wouldn't be appropriate to hint at a portfolio expansion while the company is in the process of a wide-reaching restructuring programme that includes 7,500 job cuts in Germany. But he said he has a "broad view on where Audi should be and where Audi is heading and thinking in that direction, sports cars are an integral part of such a set-up".

Döllner referenced the original TT as a car of particular importance to Audi's heritage and said the firm's new design boss, Massimo Frascella (who arrived at Audi last year following a long career at JLR), is a particular fan of the late-1990s coupé.