Beijing show: Audi to reveal TT Shooting Brake

AUDI will rip the covers off a new concept at this year’s Beijing motor show that is widely believed to preview a Shooting Brake version of the company’s TT coupe.

The Volkswagen-owned marque has not released any information about the concept, aside from a series of three teaser sketches simply titled ‘Audi Showcar Beijing 2014’.

The sketches reveal a high-riding five-door crossover body-style with clear cues to the recently revealed TT coupe including bulging wheel-arches, an almost identical grille, a similarly positioned fuel filler and a headlight design that matches the third-gen coupe.

At the rear, the tail-lights are in keeping with its sportier sibling as are the diffuser and twin tail-pipes, however the roof-line is higher and more rounded to better accommodate rear-seat passengers.

While it is unclear what name Audi will give its latest niche-filler, some reports have suggested it will take the Q4 moniker, fitting neatly between the compact Q3 and larger Q5, while others are predicting it could wear TT Shooting Brake badges, if it gets the go-ahead for mass-production.

GoAuto reported in early March that the four-ringed brand was looking to expand its TT range beyond the iconic coupe, after speaking with the company’s head of technical development, Ulrich Hackenberg at the reveal of the new TT at the Geneva motor show.

Dr Hackenberg said at the time that the TT has its own design language and that Audi was looking “intensively” at how it could further develop the model.

“We have an RS, we have a TT-S (both high-performance versions of the coupe), we have the roadster and normal coupe, so why not more.”

A production version of the TT Shooting Brake would most likely be built using the VW Group’s MQB platform that underpins everything from the TT to the VW Golf, Skoda Octavia and Audi A3, but it is unclear what powertrains the German brand would use to power it.

Such a car would expand Audi’s swelling line-up even further, as the company seeks to add more models and boost sales in an effort to become the world’s top-selling luxury car-maker by 2020, a target that its closest rivals, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are also aiming for.

The TT Shooting Brake would be a direct rival for the BMW X4 that will be unveiled in production guise at the New York motor show next week as well as another contender from the VW Group’s stable – the Porsche Macan.