Whenever press get to hang Audi’s most senior executives, a wave of substantive rumors and juicy bits of news usually ensues. Such was the case yesterday at the launch of the new Q3 when Auotcar’s Mark Trisshaw got a few minutes to grill Audi CEO Gernot Döllner about what we can expect in the not-so-distant future and asking about things car enthusiasts care about more than entry-level SUVs. Here’s a quick summary, paired with a few @4Rings.AI renderings in order to help visualize though not based on any specific new intel.
NEW AUDI DESIGN CONCEPT CONFIRMED
Even though Audi design boss Massimo Frascella has been on the job at Audi for about a little over a year now, though it’s probably worth noting that the pace of design is as such that all of these new models coming to market such as this week’s third-generation Q3 were locked down and finalized before he arrived. So though they do signal a new evolution in appearance for Audi, they’re not the revolution that is being signaled by executives like Döllner over recent months.
To clarify that, Audi’s top executive confirmed to Autocar that the brand will reveal a concept car later this year set to truly reveal the all-new look for the brand devised under Frascella’s eye.
While Döllner didn’t give specific details on the type of car that would be shown, he did describe it as a “bold step”. He explained further to Autocar, “We won’t show studies anymore. When we show things, [they] will be substantial. Every concept we show will have a product decision behind it.”
“The new design for Audi “would look to the future and the strengths of Audi design, for clarity and to bring that to the future, not copying the past”.
For production cars, Autocar is likely spot-on in their deduction that this design won’t have an impact much before 2028 given the three-year-ish nature of product lifecycles. In that time, Audi plans to roll out no less than 20 new introductions.
Döllner’s comments seem to hark another era at Audi when concept cars almost literally revealed upcoming production models, from the Mk1 TT to the Le Mans (ergo R8) and Pike’s Peak (ergo Q7). That Frascella and Döllner have regularly sited the TT Mk1 as an inspiration to Audi’s new design boss is also probably not a coincidence.
So, will it be a TT successor? That’s unclear, but we do know that Audi is currently testing its own example of a Porsche Boxster EV test mule. Given that, an electric sportscar based on that model or perhaps an R8-type of car based on the Lamborghini Temerario would be my guess.
AN EXTENSION FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION
Audi executives once tagged 2025 as the stop of internal combustion development, with 2033 or so as the end of internal combustion production based on what’s known of the brand’s typical lifecycle terms. Further comments by Döllner have dialed back that plan, positioning Audi as more reflexive and responsive to changes happening in the market.
Specifically, Audi’s CEO stated to Autocar he’d “not been the one to communicate the end date [of internal combustion models],” which he attributes to previous Audi management. Siting a prioritization on flexibility, he went further to say, “Audi is launching from 2024-2026 a completely new line-up of internal combustion engine and plug-in hybrid vehicles, and that gives us complete flexibility for at least another seven, eight, maybe 10 years, and then we will see how our markets develop,” while also confirming, “We have already decided to extend the production beyond the communicated end dates of the past.”
AUDI WILL LEAD LARGE CAR DEVELOPMENT
Another confirmation by Döllner according to Autocar is that Audi is taking the lead on hardware and software development for larger cars. Think A5 and up. This likely means the SSP matrix of automobiles, so would presumably involve the recently uprighted joint Rivian / Volkswagen Group organization. The first Audi models using SSP are estimated to arrive in late 2027 and/or 2028.
ROAD CARS INSPIRED BY F1
When the subject of F1 came up, Autocar further asked Döllner specifically about sportscars like the R8 or TT. To that Döllner stated Audi was “thinking about everything…we are car guys, let yourself be surprised.”
He went further to say, “There is room for Audi in such fields. We are evaluating different options but it’s a little too early to talk about that.”
If you want to read about this more in-depth, make sure to check out the Autocar story HERE.