Currently reading: Audi boss: Concept C going ahead despite Porsche uncertainty

'C-Sport' – production version of Concept C – remains on track despite troubled development of Porsche twin

Audi boss Gernot Döllner has reiterated to Autocar that a production version of the Concept C will arrive in 2027, following reports placing its future in doubt.

The new electric coupé, the design of which has echoes of the fabled TT, will sit on a new sports car platform called PPE Sport, which has been jointly developed by Audi and sibling brand Porsche.

At the end of last year, Porsche dramatically scaled back its EV plans (at a cost of €3.1 billion), leading to reports that it could cancel the next-generation 718 Boxster and Cayman-consequently throwing the future of the Concept C into doubt.

But Döllner sent a letter to Audi employees earlier this year reiterating the company's commitment to what is known internally as the C-Sport, and he has now insisted to Autocar that the project remains on track.

Asked how Audi could deliver the production car if Porsche's plans for the PPE Sport platform had changed, Döllner said: "Porsche will stay to that platform. We will be able to bring that car to the market in 2027, and we are working intensively and very positively together with Porsche to make that car happen.

"We already released the data [design] of the exterior and the interior, so everything is in a good way."

Döllner's comments don't necessarily mean that Porsche will progress with the electric 718 duo. As previously reported by Autocar, Porsche is looking at reverse-engineering the PPE Sport platform to accommodate a combustion engine, so that petrol models could be sold alongside or even instead of EVs.

This platform is a heavily customised version of the PPE one used by the latest Audi and Porsche electric SUVs, such as the Q6 E-tron and Macan Electric.

It features a stressed, load-bearing battery pack housed behind the driver, where the engine would be in a traditional mid-engined sports car, enabling a flat floor and a far lower driving position.

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James Attwood

James Attwood, digital editor
Title: Associate editor

James is Autocar’s associate editor, and has more than 20 years of experience of working in automotive and motorsport journalism. He has been in his current role since September 2024, and helps lead Autocar's features and new sections, while regularly interviewing some of the biggest names in the industry. Oh, and he once helped make Volkswagen currywurst. Really.

Before first joining Autocar in 2017, James spent more than a decade in motorsport journalist, working on Autosport, autosport.com, F1 Racing and Motorsport News, covering everything from club rallying to top-level international events. He also spent 18 months running Move Electric, Haymarket's e-mobility title, where he developed knowledge of the e-bike and e-scooter markets. 

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