With the switchover from A4 to A5 nomenclature, Audi didn’t just reposition its combustion sedan with a new name. It also got rid of the last mainstream coupes and convertibles it offered, sending the body styles the way of the dodo. But this isn’t just an Audi trend, it’s an industry-wide trend we’ve seen from various automakers. Mercedes used to have coupe and convertible variants of the C-Class, E-Class, and S-Class, but has consolidated these three models into the CLE in its mainstream lineup (the AMG GT and AMG SL are niche vehicles lines in this context). As for BMW, the future of the 4 Series and 2 Series Coupe is uncertain, and the 8 Series is already dead and gone.
But despite having killed off its own coupes and convertibles, Audi CEO Gernot Döllner is adamant we’ll see the body styles return.
Automakers Have Been Forced To Focus On Powertrains, Not Body Styles
Speaking to the media during a roundtable interview in Germany last month, Döllner answered our question on whether he saw Audi getting back into those body styles by commenting on how the industry has shifted. “The global automotive industry is in that consolidation process due to the fact that we have to handle multiple drivetrains, so with restricted investment possibilities, you have to focus [development on that],” he explained.
The multiple drivetrains/powertrains he refers to is, of course, the shift from combustion to electric, and the fact that Audi, like many others, has had to pivot away from electric and pursue hybrid, fresh combustion, and investigate other possibilities. Combine that with an ambitious refresh of the entire Audi lineup, and you can see why he might be reticent to focus on niche body designs and further split demand in an already fractured automotive realm.
Audi Could Revive Coupes And Convertibles Again
Audi Nuvolari hero shotAudi
But despite the current challenges, Döllner sees a future for these two body styles again. At the time we spoke to him, Audi hadn’t yet revealed the Nuvolari supercar, so the only coupe on the horizon was the all-electric C-Sport sports car, the production version of the Concept C prototype. But Döllner’s comments still give us hope that we might see more mainstream coupes and convertibles return.
“I believe that in the future we will see in the global automotive market, we will see very emotional products again. The C-Sport is one [of those]. The RS models are there as well. And I could think of a coupe or convertible version as well. But right now, other things have priority.”
– Gernot Döllner, Audi CEO
The current RS lineup might be emotive – especially the RS 5 Sedan, which has revealed Audi’s fun side – but coupes and convertibles are unique in that they aren’t reliant on sheer performance to be an expression of freedom. Models like the A5 Coupe/Convertible and performance versions thereof were special not for their zero-to-60 times but for the fun factor of their styling and the capability to have the wind in your hair.
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The base Audi TT was arguably even more expressive in that regard. It may not be a priority, but hopefully, the era of the Audi coupe/convertible returns sooner rather than later.
2024 Audi A5 Cab static rear 3/4Audi
CarBuzz Insight — Why This Matters
Döllner’s comments provided frank insight a lot of CEOs might shy away from providing, with many hyping up their desires for certain models but never committing to them — we’re looking at BMW and the persistent M1 revival rumors. The reality is that automakers may have huge budgets, but they don’t have bottomless ones, and the push towards electrification and subsequent pivot away from it has eroded their ability to spend on nice-to-haves.
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Combine this with a tough economic climate for buyers, which has forced many of them to push practical concerns ahead of stylistic ones in their purchasing decisions, and it explains why we’ve seen so many coupes and convertibles dying off or being consolidated into single model lines. But Döllner’s view that we’ll see them return bodes well for the industry, giving us a little light in dark times that maybe the bad times won’t last forever.
1999 Audi TT Coupe front, three-quarter drivingAudi
