Currently reading: Audi hypercar project cancelled

Plans for a new diesel-electric Audi hypercar have officially been halted, but a lightweight version of the TT could be made

A proposed diesel-electric Audi hypercar is now officially on ice.

Audi technical chief Ulrich Hackenberg confirmed at the Detroit motor show that a model to closely link the firm’s Le Mans efforts with a road car was “an interesting idea but not a priority”.

The Audi hypercar had been extensively spoken about by Hackenberg’s predecessor, Wolfgang Dürheimer, who left the company last year amid reports he disagreed with Volkswagen Group chief Martin Winterkorn on Audi’s electric car strategy.

Hackenberg was warmer on one of Dürheimer’s other ideas, however. A sub-1000kg version of the Audi TT was planned by Dürheimer and Hackenberg revealed that a lightweight TT using carbonfibre elements and other weight-saving technologies was possible on the MQB platform on which it is based.

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The Audi TT remains a design icon, and is now a car that’s genuinely fun to drive no matter what engine or trim you choose

Mark Tisshaw

mark-tisshaw-autocar
Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.

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