- Two-seater sports car points to future design direction
- The Slick Roadster looks like a production model up close
- It could sit between the TT and R8 as an entirely new performance proposition.
Instead of inviting a group of journalists to a stuffy design studio somewhere deep in Germany, Audi chose the glitz and glamor of London’s West End to showcase what it says is the “manifestation of a new design philosophy.”
The Audi Concept C is the work of former Jaguar Land Rover designer Massimo Frascella, who was rumored to have written the controversial Jaguar Type 00 concept before leaving the company.
There are clues in the simple nature and clean line of the elegant silver two-seater, the reduced front grille (rare these days) and the solid, sloping rear section that eliminates the rear glass for a classic, almost Porsche Spyder approach.
When the metallic beauty was seen up close, it looked surprisingly like a production vehicle, with exterior mirrors and a working cockpit, suggesting that the German brand is ready to put this electric sports car in showrooms at some point in the near future.
All you really need is a set of door handles and some surfaces fitted to meet strict safety regulations and you’re ready to roll.
It’s been a long time, maybe never, since I’ve felt that a modern sports car concept deserved an electric powertrain like this one.
It gives off strong 2004 Audi RSQ concept vibes. I, robot film, itself a precursor to the R8 that futuristically and autonomously floated around Chicago in the year 2035, fighting intelligent humanoid robots. Maybe Elon needs to watch it again.
Rumors (and logic) suggest it will sit on the same electric platform as the upcoming purely electric Porsche Boxster and Cayman models. Although they have been teased and delayed for some time now.
But while Porsche attempts to electrify arguably the world’s most perfect sports cars, Audi has never had the same weight of expectations on its shoulders.
Instead, the TT was always the most comfortable, practical and superior-feeling two-seat sports car, even if it wasn’t the fastest on the race circuit.
The design speaks for itself
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The Audi Concept C is both a look at a very probable two-seater electric sports car but also a declaration of intentions, a preview of what we can expect from the German brand in the coming years.
It’s both highly futuristic but unmistakably Audi, with anodized aluminum switches inside that are said to offer a decidedly retro but beautifully tactile response every time you interact with it. There’s no huge infotainment screen, just the essentials directly in the driver’s line of sight. It is an almost anti-modern electric vehicle.
Every surface, both inside and outside the car, feels like a piece of architecture or sculpture, with every detail meticulously studied. The result is something that feels cohesive and looks very special.
So much so, that if this concept vehicle were to cruise silently through London’s West End in its current form, it would undoubtedly stop everyone in their tracks.
The looks speak for themselves, there’s simply no need for a noisy V10 engine.
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