The year, 2014. At the Paris Motor Show, Audi unveiled a concept called TT Sportback, a four-door variant of the Audi TT , which had seen its third generation a few months earlier — the same one now on sale and the target of an update this year — and who was exploring the idea of expanding the TT to more bodies than the “traditional” coupé and roadster.
It wasn't the first time that Audi had given us more possibilities for the TT — concepts for a shooting brake and even a crossover were made — but now it looks like it's going to happen, but not in the way we were thinking.
According to AutoExpress, the fourth generation of the model will come with a four-door body, just like the 2014 TT Sportback, but not as a complement to the range, just and only with the four-door body — a “coupé” four-door, as they like to call them. Goodbye coupé, goodbye roadster, goodbye to what made the TT the… TT.
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But why?
This class of vehicles that the TT integrates has seen better days. Unlike other segments, the coupé and roadster or sports car (especially in these more reasonable price ranges) never recovered from the crisis. Volumes remain low, and as we have seen, the only way to guarantee their existence is through partnerships: Mazda/Fiat, Toyota/Subaru or even Toyota/BMW.
Even so, it remains difficult to give these types of cars the green light as demand dwindles and development costs continue to rise. The best sales year for the Audi TT in Europe was in 2007, with 38 thousand units. In 2017, 10 years later, there were just over 16 thousand units, with a peak of approximately 22 500 units in the first full year of commercialization of the third generation.
Thus, by transforming your striking coupé into a four-door "coupé", with increased dimensions, with enough space for two more passengers and enhancing the practical characteristics of the TT, it could be enough argument to raise the sales volume to a more sustainable value. and profitable.
The question remains… Is this the right way forward?
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