Audi has unveiled the Concept C in Milan, with a public debut scheduled for the IAA Mobility 2025 in Munich next week. The sleek concept car prefigures a new electric sports car for 2027, while also heralding a new design language for the brand: “Radical Simplicity.”
Audi is looking to reshape the look of its models in an attempt to differentiate itself from a more and more crowded (electric) market. The German manufacturer has decided to eliminate unnecessary design elements and focus on clarity. With the Concept C, the brand also looked back at its recent and less recent history.
Simple, clean lines
Indeed, the Concept C and its name both reference the Auto Union Type C race car from the 1930s. The influence can be seen in its low, taut, and cab-forward silhouette, but also in its vertical grille. That shape was reintroduced in the Audi A6 C6 from 2004, which featured the “single frame grille” that would become a key design element for the brand.
Other exterior design features include a retractable hardtop, a first for the brand, and a lack of a rear window, similar to the Polestar 4. The light signature front and back consists of four LED elements, referencing the four rings in Audi’s logo. Finally, the trapezium-shaped lines behind the side windows hint at the R8, Audi’s supercar, which recently went out of production.
No obtrusive screens
Inside, Audi has kept things even cleaner. The minimalist design means that there are no giant screens that span the entire width of the dashboard, contrary to Audi’s current production models. Physical buttons with a satisfying ‘click’ are back, and the interior even looks surprisingly finished for a concept vehicle.
There are two screens: one for the driver, showing the essential information, and a retractable infotainment screen in the center. It’s relatively small for the current year, measuring only 10.1 inches in diameter, and can be completely hidden away, like in several Audi models from the 2000s and 2010s.
“Radical simplicity is at the heart of our approach. We achieve clarity by reducing everything to the essential. We live in a world that is often shrill, fast-paced, and overloaded. Almost everything is overdone. The danger of losing your way is greater than ever. Our responsibility is to be better and do what really matters. And the outcome always has to be an emotion,” says Chief Creative Officer Massimo Frascella.
Production version coming in 2027
But the Audi Concept C is more than just a design statement. It prefigures a series production car coming in late 2027. This electric sports car will serve as the spiritual successor to the Audi TT and the R8, both of which recently ended production. No word yet on the technical details of this sports car, but expect a dual-motor drivetrain for Audi’s famed ‘quattro’ four-wheel drive.
