Image Credit: Audi.
The world is quite a bit of a mess right now. Between the prices of pretty much every darn thing skyrocketing and the endless parade of boring electric SUVs, I was starting to think the motoring gods had retired to a pub and left the taps running. But dry your eyes - Audi has finally decided to stop faffing about. They've confirmed that the gorgeous Concept C is no longer a pretty face meant to distract us at motor shows - it's actually going into production by 2027.
For those of you who've been living under a heavy mossy rock, Audi killed off the TT and the R8 a while back. This left their lineup looking like a car park at a suburban dental convention - full of sensible, upright boxes. But, Audi's big boss, Gernot Döllner, has basically told us to hold his schnitzel. The Concept C is the official "long-awaited" successor to the TT, and it's arriving with more urgency than a Scotsman spotting a free bar at a wedding.
Image Credit: Audi.
What's truly mental is the pace. Audi is using what they call "China speed." Usually, German car development moves at the pace of a tectonic plate with a hangover. It takes years of committees, sub-committees, and meetings about the shape of the indicator stalk. Not this time. Red tape is in the trash, and designers, engineers, and accountants have all been shoved into a single room called a "project house." The result? A car that goes from a napkin sketch to your driveway in three years.
Under that sleek, low-slung body hides the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture. This is the same clever kit that's supposed to underpin the next Porsche 718 Cayman and Boxster. There were rumors that Porsche might be getting cold feet, but Döllner sent a letter to his staff basically saying, "Keep your kilts on, the Porsche partnership is solid." It's a marriage made in heaven, if heaven was a very high-tech laboratory in Stuttgart.
Image Credit: Audi.
And before you even start commenting - no, it won't handle like a damp mattress. Audi is doing something rather clever with the batteries. Instead of a giant, heavy slab on the floor that makes you feel like you're driving a skyscraper, they're splitting the battery cells. Some sit behind the seats and some over the rear axle. This mimics the weight distribution of a mid-engined sports car. It's designed to dance around corners, not just plow straight ahead into a field.
The exact power figures are still locked in a vault somewhere in Ingolstadt, but we can expect this thing to be properly quick. If it's sharing DNA with Porsche, you can bet your last silver coin it'll hit 60 mph in well under four seconds, maybe even under three. We're likely looking at a starting price in the neighborhood of $75,000, which is a fair chunk of change, but well worth saving up for.
Image Credit: Audi.
This new "China speed" philosophy means Döllner is having spontaneous meetings every week to keep the wheels turning. He's cut out the middleman, the middleman's assistant, and the assistant's emotional support dog. It's a lean, mean, electric-machine-making process. If Audi somehow can actually turn the concept into a real car in two more years, it'll be the fastest turnaround in its history.
This really is good news. Low and wide, silent assassin that looks like it traveled back from the future to save us from an invasion of boring EVs. This German engineering has a Chinese heartbeat and a bit of sense of adventure, so it probably won't be perfect. But will it make you giggle like a schoolboy when you floor it? You bet. The world might be going to the dogs, but at least we'll be driving something spectacular when we get there.
Image Credit: Audi.
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