Audi Is Already Considering a New TT Coupe

With the death of the TT in 2023 and the R8 in 2024, Audi has been without a sports car for the first time in decades. In fact, the German automaker doesn’t sell a two-door car at all. That may soon change. Earlier this month, we heard that the R8 is set to make a dramatic comeback in the coming years, and now Audi is strongly considering a new model inspired by the original TT.

During a recent Volkswagen Group presentation for financial results, Autocar asked Audi CEO Gernot Döllner if the company is considering a new sports car. “For sure, he said. “That’s part of the brand’s DNA, and we have to find the right way, timing-wise, to integrate it into our portfolio.” The timing is particularly tough, as Audi just announced it’s laying off 7,500 people by the end of the decade, but Döllner said that sports cars are part of his broader vision for Audi’s future.

Photo by: Audi

He also spoke of the brand’s new design chief Massimo Frascella, who was hugely influenced by the original TT, apparently taking a day off work when the first model arrived at his local dealer. He spent a whole day looking at the car. “The absolutely fantastic aspect is that it seems that he somehow had Audi in his mind for his whole career. Now is the time to let Audi out of the mind of Massimo Frascella,” Döllner said.

But per the CEO, any Audi sports car won’t come before the brand establishes firmer footing with its core lineup. Like the rest of the VW Group, Audi has suffered from slower-than-expected EV demand and VW’s software development problems. It has a heavily refreshed lineup, though, with the new A5 replacing the A4, gas and electric A6s, a new Q5, and the electric Q6 E-Tron. 

Audi has been defined by its groundbreaking sporty cars. The original Quattro coupe put the brand on the map as a technology leader, the TT showed the world that it was a design force, and the R8 demonstrated it belonged among the sports car greats. Audi needs strong volume sellers, of course, but arguably, it also needs to show the world why the brand matters.