Audi excludes to give its new sports car a gas engine

There has not been much excitement around a new Audi for some time. For now it is just a concept, but the two -seater sports car is planned to become a production model in 2027. With its clean new design language and a more luxury interior of higher quality materials, the concept C wants the same image to be provided in the late nineties.

There is only one catch: you will not find a combustion engine under those slender horizontal slats on the back, nor are there cylinders that hide under the generous size cover. We asked Audi if it had planning to develop an ICE version, especially after reports suggested that a gas-driven variant would be in the making. The answer was no.

Daniel Schuster, spokesperson for technical development, drew rumors about a combustion engine concept C. EngineHe confirmed that the performance machine will be sold exclusively as an EV. He also revealed that the car will run on a newly developed platform ‘that will be shared within the [Volkswagen] Group.”

Reading between the lines, this means that the new model will probably have more than a few things in common with Porsche’s successor to the 718. Since Schuster referred to a ‘future EV platform’, we do not expect Zuffenhausen to return gas engines in the box star or Cayman. While Porsche will continue to offer two different models, a soft-top convertible and a coupé with a fixed roof, Audi will follow a different approach.

Instead of developing two body styles to reflect the defeated TT and R8, the sports car remains true to the concept. Audi confirmed that it will merge the Coupe and Roadster in one model and offer the car exclusively with an electrically retractable hardtop. This Targa-like arrangement uses two roof panels that neatly store under the aft deck and transform the concept C from Coupe to Roadster. It is actually the first time that Audi has used an electrically retractable hardtop.

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Source: Audi

CEO Gernot Döllner is convinced that the company can make the car that has not yet been made profitable, despite the annual sale estimated in the “very low five -digit” reach. He did not exclude the “TT” badge, but warned that Audi could opt for something else, because the concept C is larger. In the meantime, Chief Creative Officer Massimo Frascella says that the concept already reflects “87 percent” of the final design, so changes will be minimal.

On paper, Audi’s performance tips the scales at 3.725 pounds (1,690 kilograms), or about the same as an R8 V10 Spyder Quattro with liquids. A gas version would have been lighter, but that is off the table. The concept C has a layout of the rear-wheel drive, although the new platform can also support a front-axle engine for an electric quattro setup.

We have a clearer picture of the production-ready concept C as soon as Porsche launches the next generation of Boxster and Cayman, both expected in 2026.