Despite sharing the comfort of a corporate umbrella, it seems that two standoffish German luxury makes are now pushing the beds together.
According to the German publication Autobild (via Autoguide), Audi is tapping Porsche’s expertise to develop a new performance vehicle, designed to occupy the vast gap between the TT and R8 supercar.
Carrying the R6 moniker, which Audi trademarked in 2012 to made sure people kept their paws off it, the midrange sports car is being developed by a team that draws experience from both brands. The vehicle would ride atop a mid-engined Porsche Cayman/Boxster platform.
Developing a new platform for a single vehicle would be a costly affair for Audi, which explains the interest in Porsche.
Audi doesn’t want a badge-engineered knockoff, so there’s much speculation over what the end product would look like. Autobild assumes that all-wheel drive and an Audi engine will be needed to differentiate the R6 from its Porsche brethren, on a mechanical level, at least.
Porsche has announced a line of four-cylinder engines for its smaller offerings, but those are horizontally-opposed mills (flat fours), so there’s a question of whether an Audi engine could fit in a Boxster-based vehicle. Though the report mentions a turbocharged five-cylinder possibility, the dimensions of the vehicle will determine if the R6 — if built — becomes a fast five.
Slant Five, maybe?
“Autobild assumes that all-wheel drive and an Audi engine will be needed to differentiate the R6 from its Porsche brethren, on a mechanical level, at least.”
Really a bold proclamation there. I don’t really think this model is necessary unless they’re doing away with ye olde TT.
Exactly. The TT-RS is already bonkers.
I’m really curious if there are enough people who like Audi’s design language enough to buy a Cayman that has rings instead of a shield. Or if it’s just a ploy to sell a more ‘Butch’ version of the Boxster.
Like, what is the Market for this? People who want a sports coupe (2nd or 3rd car) for between 60 and 90k who wouldn’t otherwise just saddle up to the Porker Palace? I can see this moving ELR-numbers, and there’s no way that’s worth the effort.
Even if they kill the TT, I don’t think there can possibly be enough demand…
I think Porsche will always have a much easier time splitting segments by cost than Audi. People want the name and styling, so the Cayman and Boxster both make sense from a sales standpoint, even if both of them could be satisfied by one model in reality.
Audi needs to consolidate, and kill the TT, replacing it with this higher margin model R6.
On this episode of “When Automakers Make Decisions High On Crack Cocaine”….
Instead of updating the Q5, fixing the god forsaken Q3, or speeding up the right sized/priced crossovers VW is literally DYING to get, they are pushing forward with a sports car nobody wants or is going to buy. JFC. Is the Phaeton II a go as well? Will this be built in the glass factory?
Harsh words, but all them true.
Nobody wants a Porsche with an Audi badge.
Yet plenty want an Audi with a Porsche badge (see Cayenne & Macan) by the numbers it seems that is what the market wants. Depressingly an Audi with a Porsche badge is sold more often than a Porsche with a Porsche badge.
People want high end crossovers…. the brand is irrelevant. The Q5 outsells all of VWAG’s sports/sporty cars combined.
Many considered the Porsche 924 to be an Audi with a Porsche badge.
The 924 Having an Audi engine and gearbox lends some credence to that argument.
New Q5 was supposed to be out for MY16 but delays getting their Mexico factory up and running pushed the debut out to MY17. Not to mention that Audi notched some of their highest, if not the highest, Q5 sales in 2015.
Sportyaccordy,
It’s not an “instead of” thing. They can work on several projects at the same time. Audi isn’t a distracted teenager, they won’t forget all about the Q3, pull an all-nighter, and hand-in what should have been their first draft.
It’s still a complete waste of resources. Audi TT sold a whopping 1200 cars in the US last year and looks to be about on pace to sell 3000-4000 this year with the new model. How many R6s do they think they will move? A couple hundred?
I said it before but the current TT should have been a midengine car. Would have made it an interesting proposition at its price point. Now they have the worst of both worlds.
Does anyone remember the 1980’s when Porsche and Audi were usually sold together in US dealerships? Can’t help but think that the afterglow from Porsche helped Audi do pretty well until the 5000 debacle and saved them once again when the hot new A4 came out in 1996.
There are still some Porsche Audi dealers here in CT like Hoffman in East Hartford.