All-New Audi TT May Return Alongside R8 Supercar

Sportscars are set to form part of Audi’s future line-up, with two iconic models tipped to be making a return.

Audi CEO Gernot Dollner confirmed the company was looking at the reintroduction of stand-alone sportscars alongside high-performance versions of its passenger cars.

According to UK’s Autocar, Audi is working to bring back the R8 supercar by 2027 as a plug-in hybrid – sharing its architecture with the Lamborghini Temerario.

But now it appears an all-new Audi TT could also be in development, with the carmaker’s new head designer Massimo Frascella being a long-time fan of the two-door coupe.

“For sure, [sportscars are] part of the brand's DNA, and we have to find the right way, timing-wise, to integrate it into our portfolio,” Dollner said during a financial presentation, Autocar reports.

However, he declined to provide further details, saying it was inappropriate to discuss Audi’s portfolio expansion while the company was undergoing a company-wide restructuring that included 7500 job cuts.

The Audi boss added he had a “broad view on where Audi should be and where Audi is heading – and thinking in that direction, sports cars are an integral part of such a set-up”.

During the discussion, Dollner admitted he’d had multiple conversations with Frascella about the Audi TT.

“[The Audi TT] was an inspirational car for [Frascella’s] whole career,” Dollner explained.

“When he was a young designer at Giugiaro, he took a day off when the TT was launched in Italy, went to the Audi dealer in Milan and sat in the showroom for a day just looking at the car.

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“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.”

The previous-generation Audi TT and R8 were axed from the company's global line-up within the past 18 months.

A recent Autocar report from veteran journalist Greg Kable – known for having strong relationships with industry insiders – claimed the Audi R8 was being developed with Lamborghini’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 flat-plane crank engine, combined with plug-in hybrid technology.

Both a coupe and roadster of the new-generation R8 are planned, with the Audi to focus on “everyday usability” to help differentiate it from its Lamborghini twin.

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