• An electric replacement for the Audi TT is on the way... in 5 to 10 Years
Last year, the Audi TT came to the end of an incredible journey that spanned almost a quarter of a century. The world was first introduced to this stylish car in 2000.
It got off to a rocky start, especially in terms of reliability, but the model went from strength to strength. However, as all good things must come to an end, the adventure came to an end last year with the end of production of the third-generation model.
Until now, no replacement has been announced, something that could have been done in recent years to prepare for the new electric reality that is increasingly taking shape.
However, this week we learned from the British magazine Autocar that the manufacturer has been thinking about what to do next with the model and, of course, has been looking at the possibility of creating an all-electric product in the spirit of the TT.
Daniel Schuster, spokesman for Audi's technical development department, said designers were starting from scratch to conceive the future model. We won't be looking at what the TT was in order to think of an electric sequel for it, but rather what kind of product the company needs to improve and complete its range.
So it's not surprising that we mentioned that the future car won't be called the TT. Where things get a little more surprising is the window we're given into its eventual arrival. In fact, the company is talking about a car that will arrive in 5 to 10 years. If the first deadline is more "reasonable", the second seems a long way off.
Audi says it wants a car that arouses emotions. It will be designed with specific goals in mind, namely to deliver driving pleasure and performance. This also applies to the sound of the electric drive.
And that brings us to the never-ending debate when it comes to an electric sports car. While the silence of an all-electric SUV can be appreciated, the opposite is true for a sports car, where the sound of the gasoline engine is part of the driving experience.
So the future TT will have to make some noise. However, we're not thinking of reproducing the sound of the model's 5-cylinder engine. "Honestly, we had some prototypes where we reproduced the five-cylinder sound and it didn't fit at all" revealed Rolf Michl, Managing Director of Audi Sport.
So we'll have to find another solution. Audi promises to surprise us.
We'll just have to be patient to see it all come to fruition.