Audi will mix design elements of both the current TT and the original when creating the third-generation car, according to insiders close to the project. The aim, they say, is to recapture some of the distinctiveness and impact of the first-generation car.

There’s a feeling in some quarters of Audi that the striking Bauhaus style of the first Audi TT - distinguished by a strongly functional shape largely untroubled by ornamentation - should be revived in the next car, which will make its debut as a coupé in 2014, with a roadster arriving the following year.

The latest version of the TT will be based on the new VW Group MQB platform, whose architecture allows for a shorter front overhang and a longer wheelbase relative to the car’s overall length.

The new TT will have wider tracks, too, but the overall size of the car will be little changed.

Audi’s latest six-corner grille, more angular headlights and contoured clamshell bonnet will all feature, along with the trademark rounded tail and motorised tail spoiler. It’s believed that the wheel arches will also have greater sculptural emphasis.

The new TT will have a chassis set-up intended to deliver a more engaging drive than the current car’s, Audi’s dynamic target being the Porsche Boxster.

To this end, there will be a higher aluminium content in the TT’s structure to further reduce mass. Today’s base model weighs an already competitive 1240kg.

As now, there will be front-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive options.

Engines will include the latest slimmed-down 1.8-litre and 2.0-litre EA888 petrol engines, which will include fuel-saving cylinder deactivation. A mildly updated direct injection 2.0-litre diesel will also be in the line-up. In 2015 a reworked version of the 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine will make its debut in a new high-performance TT RS.

Inside, Audi is again aiming to set new standards of fit and finish, to maintain the TT’s position as a compact coupé — and roadster — that’s strong on design and sophistication.

Thanks to: Autocar