2015 Geneva Motor Show: Audi tips TT-based SUV

Audi TT Q crossover could go into production, says Audi board member

THE model most likely to be added to Audi’s TT family is an SUV, according to the company’s technical chief, Ulrich Hackenberg.

The straight-talking board member of eager-to-grow Audi believes a production version of the TT Offroad concept – presented at Auto China in Beijing last year – could be approved for production.

It was one of three TT-themed concepts the company revealed at major motor shows in 2014, but it’s not Hackenberg’s personal pick. He prefers the five-door TT concept show at the Paris show.

“I think the best was the last one, the Sportback,” Hackenberg told us at the Geneva show today. “It was very perfect from a design side, but if you look to our model range then you see there is a similar car, the A3 sedan for example, and they are too close together.”

This isn’t a problem for a TT SUV, he explains, and the potential for profit is greater.

“The strongest segment from the growth side is the SUV, and in the SUV segment I think we have some space for additional models.”

When it comes to choosing which one to build, the choice is clear, Hackenberg says: “The TT Q car is the favourite.”

The executive declined to say if Audi’s board has approved the TT Q for production, but admitted it could be ready as early as 2017.

“For realising such a car, it is possible to do it within a little bit longer than two years.”

Audi began exploring possible directions for expansion of the TT line-up with the Allroad Shooting Brake concept, presented at the Detroit show early in 2014.

There were two reasons for rolling out the three-car series of concepts over the course of a year: “One is that we want to grow and we want to increase our volume, and to do that we need additional model lines.”

Hackenberg said there was also a need to push forward with design.

“We gave the opportunity to our designers to make a further development of the Audi design language, especially the TT design language, which is a little bit different from the other cars.”