Electric Audi R8 And Audi TT Successors Hinted

Speaking with Autocar, Audi's head of technical development revealed that future electric sports cars and supercars will be built atop a bespoke architecture. Oliver Hoffmann was asked about entry-level EVs and confirmed that the VW Group's MEB platform will be used, but when asked if this would be suitable for sportier vehicles, Hoffmann indicated that Audi would invest in a new platform. However, this won't be excessively expensive since it will infuse elements of the Scalable Systems Platform architecture.

"I'm talking about iconic cars - sports cars and so on," said Hoffman. "We will use systems and modules out of the platform, or toolkit, and there is some space to bring cars out of the platform. For these cars, we will use modules or systems from the platforms."

Hoffmann did not explain what else to expect from the new structure, and he did not confirm anything about successors to current sports cars. But when it comes to Audi's icons of the modern era, the R8 supercar is an obvious candidate, and so is the chic TT. While we don't know when their replacements will arrive, Hoffmann did reveal that work has already commenced.

"We have a clear focus on the launch of this big model lineup," said Hoffman. "In the next two years, we will bring nearly 20 new products - more than 50% battery-electric. This is our clear focus, but to be honest, we are working on different concepts and projects."

Among those projects will be new combustion sports cars arriving between now and 2026, and Audi says these will be its best yet.

So far, Audi has been very quiet about the R8 replacement, but it appears that it will be called Rnext. We know that the Volkswagen Group's SSP architecture can support awesome outputs as high as 1,700 horsepower, and we know that all the VW Group's brands like to share parts. Thus, it's possible that the R8 successor could draw influence from the inevitable production version of the Mission X concept, and if that's the case, perhaps the next Audi TT will be based on the electric Cayman and Boxster.

That being said, each brand will have plenty of freedom to infuse its own signature feel, and the R8 replacement will remain partly hand-built to help it stand out and justify its price. We look forward to seeing if these new EVs will be able to carry the mantles passed onto them, but it'll be a couple of years yet before we can put them through their paces.