Not every concept on display at the Tokyo motor show is pie-in-the-sky, if reaction to Audi’s new Shooting Brake Concept is good enough, we could see it joining the TT range when the all-new model goes on sale late next year.
The concept gives the biggest clue yet to how TT Mk2 will look, and perhaps the most obvious change is the adoption of a new interpretation of Audi’s single-frame grille with chromed vertical slats and an aluminium diffuser beneath. The grille is flanked by aggressive air intakes and LED headlights, but oddly lacks any provision for a number plate.
The familiar proportions and accentuated wheelarches of the current TT remain, but the new car is 140mm longer, with sculpted side sills and an upswept rear pillar leading to a Clio V6-style hatchback rear end with twin exhausts and a pronounced diffuser.
It may be a hatchback, but don’t expect too much practicality. Although Audi claims the concept is a full four-seater – with rear legroom boosted by a 41mm longer wheelbase than the current car – the boot remains a compact 255 litres (730 litres with the rear seats folded).
Like the A3, the new TT sits on the VW Golf MkV platform with its MacPherson strut front suspension and four-link rear. The Shooting Brake is powered by the current range-topper’s 247bhp 3.2-litre FSI V6, driving all four wheels through a six-speed gearbox and rear-mounted multi-plate clutch. Audi claims 0-62mph in 6.0sec and a 155mph electronically-limited top speed, and there are ceramic brakes discs to boost braking power and lower unsprung weight.
In place of conventional dampers, the concept uses ‘Audi magnetic ride’ adaptive shock absorbers, which are filled with magnetorheological fluid whose viscosity can be controlled by an electromagnetic field, giving continuously variable damping.
The technology continues inside where the more driver-focussed dashboard features a touch-screen satellite navigation system controlled by a version of the A8’s MMI (multi-media interface) system.
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