Audi’s all-encompassing electric future
Audi aims to have a pure-EV in every “core segment” from 2027. So that’s the indomitable Audi Q5, Audi Q3 and Audi A4 going electric, then, but what about the far-from-core Audi R8 and Audi TT sports cars? We asked technical development boss Oliver Hoffmann if the two-seaters will get a battery-powered reprieve now that they’re entering their final few months on sale.
“The future will be fully electric,” he said. “We intend to come up with some surprises again and we are working on sports car concepts that will probably be fully electric. All I can say is we will surprise and thrill you.”
Given the new Audi-Porsche PPE platform will get rear- and all-wheel-drive drivetrains and place an emphasis on dynamics, it seems an obvious basis for EV versions of each.
Firm rivalry
It’s easy to misconstrue inter-manufacturer rivalries as animosity, but away from the sales charts and one-upmanship, industry bosses can learn a lot from each other.
Take Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares (above left), who recently told reporters he has “not only a deep respect for [Volkswagen Group CEO] Herbert Diess, I think he is an inspiring leader, and hats off for what he is trying to achieve”.
Tavares said his 14-brand company uses Volkswagen as a “benchmark for many things” and says “time will tell us who has been able to execute his strategy”.
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That Autocar rendering of the next TT looks a bit like a cross between the previous Aston Martin Vantage and a Venturi. Which isn't a bad thing - it looks fantastic and I would love to see cars that look like that driving around on the roads.