Audi Lifts the Veil From its 400-Horsepower TT Sportback Concept

Audi TT Sportback concept (Credit: © Audi)

It’s becoming clearer with each passing auto show and each new TT-based concept that the reports Audi is thinking about creating an entire TT-based lineup are true. And now with the 2014 Paris Auto Show in the books, we have a new TT concept to pass on: the TT Sportback. Essentially, this is a longer and wider, four-door version of Audi’s compact sports car.

The TT Sportback’s body is 176 inches long, 74.4 inches wide, 54.3 inches tall, and it rides on a 92.9-inch wheelbase. This makes the TT Sportback 11.2 inches longer from front to back and 2.4 inches wider than the TT Coupe. It also has a 4.7-inch longer wheelbase than the TT. The only area that the Sportback is smaller is its height, which is 1.2 inches shorter than the TT Coupe.

Audi TT Sportback concept (Credit: © Audi)

There are a slew aesthetic changes to the TT Sportback’s body too, including reworked headlights and a wider grille to accentuate the wider body. The grille also gets a new honeycomb insert in the place of the horizontal bars of the TT Coupe’s grille. Just below the grille is a one-piece air intake with a splitter that spans the width of the car. Around back are revised taillights with vertical splitters and oval exhaust outlets inside a rather unsporty rear-bumper insert.

Under the hood, things get much better, as the TT Sportback carries a 2.0-liter, TFSI engine that produces 400 horsepower at 6,400 rpm and 332 pound0feet of torque between 2,400 and 6,000 revs. This powerplant allows the concept to hit 62 mph in just 3.9 seconds while emitting only 162 grams of CO2 per km and delivering 33.6 mpg.

Audi TT Sportback concept (Credit: © Audi)

While the engine is a thing of beauty, the body does not fit the TT well. I can only hope that Audi comes to its senses and realizes that the TT is best left in its current state. However, this 400-horsepower TFSI engine needs to be a part of the lineup ASAP; possibly as a part of the upcoming TT-RS lineup.