Ahead of this week’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Audi has revealed images of the Allroad Shooting Brake concept. What it’s actually hinting at though, is their next generation TT.
Take away the roof racks, body cladding, jacked-up suspension and extended roofline, and what you have is very close to what the third-generation TT will look like. And once you’ve done that, you’ll realize the next TT isn’t going to be anything radical.
Following Ingolstadt’s clearly successful strategy of modernizing rather than revolutionizing a new model, the next TT carries many recognizable design cues. From the rear lights to the simple, but muscular wheel arches and the uninterrupted crease line on the flanks, this concept car is unequivocally TT. The changes – or updates – are the more angular headlights, slatted grill and the use of lightweight body panels made from aluminium and carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP). Even the wheels are CFRP.
Last week Audi surprised us by showing the next generation TT’s interior at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The big news was the disappearance of a central display that’s been replaced by a large, colour digital interface. Audi has become renowned for the simple, clean and finessed interiors and one example of how the new TT takes this up a level are the new ventilation controls. They’re hidden in the vents themselves and extend when they sense a hand approaching.
Powering the Allroad Shooting Brake concept is one of Audi’s e-tron hybrid drivetrains mated to an all-wheel-drive system. This plug-in hybrid has a 215 kW 2,0-litre TFSI petrol engine boosted by a 40 kW electric motor. This drives the front wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. The Quattro bit comes with a second 85 kW electric motor that can either drive the car on its own or with the rest of the drivetrain for full four-wheel drive. The Allroad Shooting Brake concept has impressive combined output figures of 300 kW with 650 N.m of torque.
According to Audi, the concept can do 125 km/h on electric power and has a range of 50 km miles. The fuel consumption, say the Germans, is an eyebrow-raising 1,9 liters per 100 km. Top speed is an electronically limited 250 km/h, with 0-100 km/h despatched in 4,6 seconds.
