The latest from the CarBuzz spy photographers looks like a Porsche, but don’t be confused. This is a test mule for the latest and greatest from Audi. Under the bodywork of the 718 EV could be the bones for something pretty cool, albeit quite different from its predecessor.
If our sources are accurate, you’re looking at a successor to the Audi TT. Well, not looking directly at it, anyway. The foundation needs to be honed in, but based on the car’s track, this new Audi sports car will be unrecognizable from the old one.
Widebody Porsche 718 Is Hiding Audi Bits Underneath
Audi sports car test mule spy photoCarBuzz/Valet
Thicc, chonk, however you want to describe it, this test mule has some wide rear fenders. They’re much wider than any Porsche 718 model, and now that the car has even wider flares fitted, the effect has been taken to the extreme.
Even the front fenders are wider to fit more tire, or a wider track for the new Audi. We’ve seen Porsche Boxster EV prototypes doing duty as the new Audi sports car before, but this is the first time we’ve seen the new and more extreme look. The first TT test mule photos were taken early last year. Apart from the new fenders, the changes since then have been small. New wheels, also from the Porsche catalog, and more stickers.
On the Porsche front, reports have fluctuated on whether its electric sports car will actually reach production. But clearly, the electric Audi TT is still happening. The stickers, yellow dot, and the charge plug in the rear bumper make it abundantly clear this one has no combustion engine.
We thought Audi was working on this car along with a replacement for the R8, though last year Kjell Gruner, Volkswagen Group of America’s then-new CEO, said that a mid-engine gas car was not on the road map.
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What About The Nuvolari?
Audi sports car test mule spy photoCarBuzz/Valet
What does that make the Audi Nuvolari, revealed yesterday? We’re not sure, because it ticks all the same boxes the R8 did, including having a mid-mounted engine and sharing a great deal with a Lamborghini.
Since this Porsche-bodied car is still in mule form, and we haven’t seen prototypes hiding production bodywork, the new model is likely still further out than we had expected. Recently, Audi CEO Gernot Döllner said that “I have a gut feeling that we’re on the verge of such a TT moment,” and that the new EV would revitalize the brand.
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We had anticipated a 2027 reveal, but that seems unlikely now. The Porsche version was meant to go on sale in 2024, but it still seems far away. The latest guess puts that one at 2027, as the company has struggled with development, battery supply, and other issues.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Audi, like Porsche, VW, and others, has been in a bind the last few years. Huge investments in EVs haven’t paid off, and now they’re struggling to launch vehicles that buyers may not want. EV demand is still strong, though, especially in Europe, and vehicles like a new sports car could help improve that.
The real challenge here is the long runway for the new vehicles so far. The 718 EV has been in development so long that its tech could already be stale. The same could happen with Audi’s version.
