Automotive Vaporware

Creating vaporware has been a popular marketing technique for years.  Everyone believes that the quad electric turbocharged car with six electric motors and four super capacitors will be in dealer showrooms within the next few months.

I’ve never been a fan of Audi’s TT.  My appreciation turned negative when it was revealed that the first version was an example of style defeating design because it’s highly styled jellybean shape was not a friend of basic aerodynamic principles.  A few unlucky owners discovered this after high speed oversteer incidents caused at least one fatal crash.

It has taken years for the TT to transform into a shape that doesn’t cause me to laugh when viewing it.  The car is almost nearing the point where we would consider adding one to our destructive testing fleet.  I neglected to mention that the power figures for even the most “performance” oriented version have been abysmal.  Our single rooftop solar panel is almost as powerful as a normal Audi TT, and it doesn’t even have an engine!

All of this begins to change with Audi’s newest concept, the TT Clubsport. 

Audi accepted that the best way to keep the rear of the car planted was to install a gigantic rear wing.  That rear wing adds downforce, street cred, and at least $20,000 to the MSRP.  Everything about this car has been upsized or exaggerated so that it screams, “PERFORMANCE!”  The exception would be vehicle mass that has been reduced to benefit the power to weight ratio.  The car weighs an impressive—for today’s vehicles—3077 lbs.  A 2.5-ltr 5-cylinder engine with 592 hp and 479 lb-ft. of torque provides the motivational force for this juiced-TT.  Included at extra charge is an electrically driven 48-volt compressor to augment the twin turbos.  This is similar to what McLaren claims the P1 does with its TorqueFill electric motor.  AcMo can support this advancement—if it works as advertised.  Even the endangered manual transmission makes an appearance.  Considering that the current Audi flagship, the R8, isn’t offered with a manual, what are the odds the TT Clubsport would actually go into production with a manual option?

The claimed specs are similar to what AcMo would produce for a press release.  The technology could improve our development of smaller scale power for our Peregrineworks projects.  The development chief, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg has been quoted as claiming the technology is close to production ready.  There is only one problem.

This car will never be built, and if it is built, it won’t have anywhere near the power figures being quoted today.  This is an old and overused game played by Audi with their concept cars.  Just a basic perusal of the car’s claimed specifications would yield the realization that the base price would have to be greater than $150,000 to even think about making a profit.  Who would really buy a +$150,000 Audi TT when that is Audi R8 territory?  Exactly 3 people would make that purchase.  3 sales will not even begin to recover development costs on a project of this alleged scale.  Ask me how I know.

Audi has spent years promising extraordinary leaps into next level technology and power only to deliver a car that is just an incremental step above the outgoing model.  I’m wise to their shenanigans, and I’m no longer willing to play the game.  I’ve given up hope that the next great hype of a concept car is the precursor to the production model.

I am willing to bet AcMo’s entire future that I’m correct on this one.  The Audi TT Clubsport will NEVER be produced in the form it currently exists at a price below $150,000 US.  AcMo’s flying car concept, the AFSS Pterodactyl™, will be on the market before this Audi