It’s a dynamic time right now in the automotive industry. Many manufacturers that previously pledged themselves to dive head-first into the wonderful world of electrification are now pumping their literal and metaphorical brakes on the idea, leaning back into hybrids, plug-ins, and various other transitional means of propulsion.
Audi is one of those brands that has been softening its stance on the EV front lately, pledging to continue supporting internal combustion-powered machines so long as the market demands. But its new concept unveiled today in Milan gives us a striking view of a next generation of EVs — and hybrids, and others — that will wear four rings on the nose.
It’s called the Concept C, and it’s part of a movement Audi brass have called “the radical next.” It’s meant to be something of a reboot for the brand’s design efforts, a back-to-basics project that starts on the inside with a dramatically simplified interior design.
While many modern Audis feature one or two giant touchscreens that dominate the dash, in the Concept C, there’s just a pure dashboard with a subtle, illuminated vertical slot in the middle. Controls are physical and chunky, designed to have a strong sense of weight and tactility, featuring what the car’s designers describe as the “Audi click.”
It’s definitely a major departure for Audi, but there is a nod to modern sensibilities with a 10.4-inch touchscreen. It’s hidden, tucking itself behind the dashboard when not needed and quickly swiveling into view when summoned. The car also features buttons and touch-sensitive surfaces that disappear behind the dashboard, a row of backlit controls that only appear when needed.
The outside of the car is a substantial reboot, too. In this new concept, you’ll see some similarities to the brand’s last great roadster, the TT, which went out of production in 2023. But to see the key inspiration for the Concept C, you have to go back a little further, back to the Auto Union Grand Prix machines of the 1930s.
Specifically, Audi is referencing the Type C, which raced from the pre-Formula One days of 1936 to 1937. That car’s shape and upright grille definitely carry on in the Concept C, but this new road car has one feature that vintage racing machines lacked: a folding hardtop convertible.
The Concept C is actually the first Audi to sport such a top, giving it the look of a coupe but the open-air design of a roadster. The louvered rear and simple, tapered shape are dipped in a colored paint meant to emulate the subtle warmth of titanium.
One thing that tapered shape doesn’t allow is a rear window. Like the Polestar 4, the Concept C takes an extreme stance towards rearward visibility by featuring none at all. That rear-view mirror you see hanging from the glass is digital. But, the fact that this car even has a rear-view mirror, plus side mirrors and windshield wipers, hint that this thing is probably close to production-ready.
When it comes to the more practical matter of what makes it go, and for how far and how quickly, sadly, we don’t have a lot of details just yet. Again, Audi has said that this will be an EV, but that the design will influence a new generation of Audis powered by all sorts of options, including hybrid and internal combustion, “as the transition to electric mobility progresses.”
This car, though, is most definitely battery powered, though the company has yet to share any more details beyond that. Audi says it is rear-wheel drive, which would point to a single-motor at the back, but a future version with Quattro all-wheel drive seems like a sure bet.
This car’s predecessor, the TT, was actually based on the Volkswagen Golf chassis, which gave it front-wheel drive to begin with. However, if this new machine is to share its foundations with anything, it’s much more likely to be Porsche’s upcoming electric 718, as previewed in the Mission R.
But for now that’s just speculation, and again, this is just a concept. Audi isn’t saying when a car like this might see production, but it is a machine that is destined to become something you can buy. That’ll be good news to anyone who misses the dearly departed TT. If an eventual production-based Concept C still looks this good when it hits dealers, it very well might make just as many waves as its predecessor.
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