Audi hints it will revive its heroes

The last of the third-generation TTs rolled off the production line in November 2023, while production of the second-generation R8 concluded in March 2024, leaving Audi with no traditional petrol-powered coupes in its lineup – and with performance EVs as its flagships.

Reports of both models’ return have circulated since, with the TT revival being linked to a new Porsche platform, as the R8 could be a plug-in hybrid twin to the Lamborghini Temerario.

Speaking to UK publication Autocar, Audi CEO Gernot Döllner said the brand was “thinking about everything…we are car guys, let yourself be surprised,” when asked about a return of the TT and R8.

“There is room for Audi in such fields. We are evaluating different options but it’s a little too early to talk about that.”

Audi is set to make its debut in the Formula 1 World Championship next year, and it’s this level of promotion of the brand which many see as being key to it having petrol-powered halo models in its model lineup.

The Audi TT was always traditionally based on the Volkswagen Golf and Audi A3, albeit with a more attractive two-door coupe or convertible body. A total of 662,762 TTs were produced from September 1998 to November 2023, though it endured slow sales towards the end of its life.

Likewise, the Audi R8 lasted two generations, starting out as a V8 coupe in 2006 before a V10 was added in 2008, and later a convertible in 2010. The second-generation model entered production in 2015, exclusively with V10 power except for a handful of electric R8 e-trons.

In total, 44,418 R8 were built between 2008 and 2024, 687 of which were delivered in Australia.

Initially it was expected the R8 would return as an EV, based on the Volkswagen Group’s upcoming System Scalable Platform (SSP), however Autocar reported in March that it would likely return in 2027 with the same architecture as the Temerario.

This would align the third-gen R8 with its predecessors, which were twinned with the Lamborghini Gallardo (first-gen) and the Huracan (second-gen).

At the time, the report claimed the R8 would continue to be a more subtle offering than the Lamborghini, while it would make use of the Temerario’s twin-turbo V8 plug-in hybrid powertrain.

It was reported the plug-in hybrid R8 would be called the R8 e-tron, despite the latter moniker being exclusively used by Audi’s full-electric models.