Reports are emerging that Mercedes-Benz will introduce a compact FWD coupé, along with a roadster spinoff, to rival the Audi TT.
Although the Mercedes SLK has been traditionally held as the Stuttgart firm’s foil to the TT, the mechanically complex RWD coupé-cabriolet has always carried a considerable price premium over its perceived rival.
Now reports of Mercedes developing a direct rival to the TT are starting to gain a foothold on the ‘web.
Although Mercedes has recently dismissed the reports as “speculation”, there is a good deal of evidence pointing towards such a move – the most pertinent of which is the company’s determination to get as much mileage out of its MFA (Modular Front Architecture) compact FWD platform as possible.
The next generation of Mercedes’s compact vehicles (A-Class, B-Class, CLA, GLA) will start trickling in by 2017-18, bringing with them the updated MFA2 platform.
Mercedes has already stated its desire to further expand upon its compact FWD product range and, given the obvious gap in this particular line-up, will likely introduce a more keenly priced rival to the FWD Audi TT based on MFA2 underpinnings.
As a direct rival to the Audi, Mercedes’s compact sportscar will probably be offered in coupé and roadster body types, and will take design cues from the AMG GT.
Powerplants are likely to comprise a series of four-cylinder turbopetrols, probably not exceeding 1,8-2,0-litres in displacement.
Rumours of an AMG version with up to 300 kW and an AWD drivetrain have been circulating, but given the new car’s more budget-friendly, and boutique, proviso such a move will only be precipitated by what Audi serves up with its TT-RS model,
