Audi reveals stretched TT Sportback concept

Audi has given its latest insight into plans to extend the third-generation Audi TT family with the unveiling of a new 395bhp, 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine-powered five-door concept called the TT Sportback.

The practical new Sportback, revealed on the eve of the Paris motor show and later displayed at the show itself, is the third conceptual derivative of the TT to be aired by Audi in 2014. It follows the stylish TT Allroad revealed at the Detroit motor show in January and the high-riding Offroad shown at the Beijing show in April.

Although all three variants are billed as concepts, they are said to closely preview new liftback, shooting brake and SUV models that could complement the existing coupé and roadster in a five-strong range of TT models within the next three years.   

“In our TT Sportback we are revealing a new member of a potential TT family,” said Audi research and development boss Ulrich Hackenberg. His comments follow similar accounts of the TT Allroad and TT Offroad, the later of which Hackenberg has described as a “glimpse of a new model in the future TT family”.

The TT Sportback draws its styling inspiration from the latest TT coupé, and comes with heavy influences of the Bauhaus design lineage that has shaped the look of the Audi line-up since the mid-1990s.

While it is evident that it is not simply a stretched version of its three-door TT coupé sibling, it is clear from the similarity in appearance that the new five-door is intended to be a member of the same family of models.

Among its more prominent elements is a bold six-corner grille set within a heavily structured front bumper. The front end also features a clamshell-style bonnet that wraps into the flanks and trapezoidal-shaped headlights with distinctive laser high beam projectors that are activated at speeds above 37mph.

The new model retains the prominent wheel arch flares that have been a feature of the TT since its introduction to the Audi line-up back in 1996. They are filled out with substantial 10-spoke 21-inch alloy wheels shod with 255/30 tyres.

A defined shoulder line, referred to by Audi as the 'Tornado' line, runs the entire length of the flanks, from the trailing edge of the headlights through to the tail-lights. Four frameless front-hinged doors provide access to the cabin. A shallow glasshouse is stretched with the addition of a third window at the rear, while the B-pillar is fixed in the interests of structural rigidity.

Holding true to the layout of the TT coupé models, the new TT Sportback features a liftback-style tailgate styled in similar fashion to that gracing the Audi A7. The rear also features new slimline LED tail-lights and twin oval-shaped tailpipes set within a deep rear bumper.