Audi has unveiled its latest design study, the Concept C, choosing the bright lights of London’s West End over the usual anonymous German design studio. The company says the new model represents the “manifestation of a new design philosophy”, and it’s certainly one of the boldest design studies from the German company in recent years.
The Concept C is the work of Massimo Frascella, the former Jaguar Land Rover design boss who was rumoured to have created the polarising Jaguar Type 00 concept before making for the door. His new Audi effort echoes those clean lines: a sleek silver two-seater with crisp creases, a noticeably shrunken front grille (a novelty these days), and a sweeping rear section that ditches the usual glass for a more classic, almost Porsche Spyder-like profile.
Seen up close, the metallic show car looked unusually production-ready. It has proper door mirrors, a functioning cockpit and proportions that suggest Audi isn’t merely sketching fantasies for the fun of it. Realistically, it would only need door handles and a few tweaks to meet safety regulations before it could start cruising the streets.
Crucially, few modern sports car concepts have felt quite so suited to an electric powertrain. The design gives off strong Audi RSQ energy — the futuristic, self-driving coupe from I, Robot that glided around 2035 Chicago while dodging moody humanoid robots. A reminder, perhaps, that Hollywood was pitching autonomous EVs long before Silicon Valley decided to claim the idea.
Industry chatter — and basic logic — suggests the Concept C will eventually ride on the same electric architecture as the upcoming Porsche Boxster and Cayman EVs. Those models have been teased, delayed, teased again, and delayed again, but they’re inching closer.
Where Porsche is wrestling with the herculean task of electrifying two of the world’s most beloved sports cars, Audi faces no such burden. The TT, for all its charm, was always the more comfortable, premium-feeling alternative rather than the purist’s choice. That gives Audi far more creative freedom — and far less pressure — as it shapes its next-generation electric sports car.
