When it presented its new coupé concept last year, Audi said it planned to bring the production version of the Concept C to the electric sports car platform of the Porsche Boxster and Cayman.
However, after several delays and a change of CEO, these models remain uncertain at Zuffenhausen. Now, Audi clarifies: its own model is on schedule and will be produced.
Highlight at IAA Mobility in Munich
From an electric mobility perspective, the Concept C study was the highlight of Audi’s presence at the IAA Mobility trade show in Munich last September. The fully electric two-seater sports car not only offered a glimpse into the brand’s new design philosophy, featuring the ‘vertical frame’ at the front as a nod to the Auto Union Type C from 1936, but also previewed a concrete production model.
At the show, the focus was naturally on design, with Audi providing few details about the technical specifications. The German manufacturer merely confirmed a ‘mid-battery architecture,’ which was a significant clue.
After all, it was the same architecture that the Volkswagen Group’s Porsche brand developed internally for the similarly sized electric successors to the 718 Boxster and Cayman.
However, in early February, reports emerged suggesting that the Porsche board, under new CEO Michael Leiters, might abandon the model range after several delays and setbacks, though no final decision has been made.
The mere possibility that Audi might lose its technology partner for the production version of the Concept C has fueled rumors in Ingolstadt about the electric sports car’s future. In response to enquiries from Motor1, an Audi spokesperson dismissed the rumors of a potential cancellation as ‘pure speculation’ and emphasised that Audi remains on schedule.
Reassuring the troops
Audi hasn’t only been busy calming the waters externally. According to the German newspaper Donaukurier, CEO Gernot Döllner intervened by sending an internal memo to reassure employees working on the project.
In the memo, Döllner reportedly stated that the sports car has ‘a bright future’. He was quoted as saying: “The supply of the platform by Porsche is not in question.” He also emphasized that the jointly developed performance EV project is progressing “in good cooperation between Team Porsche and Team Audi”.
Only electric
While many manufacturers are now retrofitting internal combustion engines into platforms originally designed for purely electric vehicles, Audi has confirmed that the performance EV project is based on a dedicated electric platform.
This is relevant because Porsche is no longer focusing exclusively on electric successors to the 718; it also plans to reintroduce internal-combustion models in this segment by the end of the decade, which would likely require a different platform.
At Audi, this is not under consideration at this time, according to current information. The model will be available solely with a battery-electric powertrain. There is also another difference: While Porsche developed two body variants from the outset, the Boxster ( a convertible) and the Cayman (a coupé), Audi will offer only one version: the coupé with a Targa roof, as showcased in the Concept C.
