{"id":83459,"date":"2025-09-02T15:00:46","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T19:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=83459"},"modified":"2025-09-02T15:00:46","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T19:00:46","slug":"audi-concept-c-bmw-i4-coupe-rival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=83459","title":{"rendered":"The Audi Concept C Previews A BMW i4 Coupe Rival"},"content":{"rendered":"

The two-door car is a shrinking niche. Just ask BMW. It\u2019s about to pull the plug on the Z4 without planning a direct successor. Adding insult to injury, the 4 Series Coupe and Convertible might not be long for this world either. Still, there\u2019s a glimmer of hope for those seeking a fun car. Come 2028, we might get an i4 Coupe. Not another five-door liftback marketed as a \u201cGran Coupe,\u201d but a real coupe, codenamed NA2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Audi has already phased out the TT and R8<\/a>, but it too is laying the groundwork for a coupe comeback. With the Concept C, BMW\u2019s rival is also hiding a roadster in plain sight. The coupe morphs into an open-top sports car by electrically folding its targa-like panels for unlimited headroom. Munich might respond with an i4 Convertible (NA3), though, like the i4 Coupe, it hasn\u2019t been officially confirmed for production.<\/p>\n

For Audi, the new concept is more than a preview of a sports car coming later this decade. It\u2019s also a window into a fresh design language. Much like BMW with the Neue Klasse<\/a>, Audi is embracing a \u201cless is more\u201d approach. Out go the busy exterior lines and cluttered dashboards. In their place, smoother surfaces inside and out attempt to revive the elegant simplicity of the original TT.<\/p>\n

Drawing a parallel with BMW\u2019s upright kidney grilles on certain models, the Concept C also adopts a vertical grille. That design choice has a legacy behind it, dating back to 1936 with the Auto Union Type C race car. Moving closer to our times, Audi says the front-end treatment also nods to the 2004 A6, a rival to BMW\u2019s E60 5 Series.<\/p>\n

Future Four Rings models will also adopt a quad-light motif at both ends. Still, the production version of the Concept C isn\u2019t likely to look quite as clean. Expect proper door handles and plenty of sensors, but otherwise, the styling should remain true to the show car. One feature we\u2019d love to see reach production is the retractable infotainment screen.<\/p>\n

Measuring 10.4 inches, the touch display tucks neatly into the dashboard when not in use. Some older Audis also offered a hideaway screen, but that\u2019s long gone. Given widespread criticism of shifting too many functions into touchscreens, we\u2019re glad to see physical switchgear on the steering wheel and center console. Meanwhile, BMW is going the other way. Its upcoming iDrive X ditches the rotary knob<\/a> between the seats, though some traditional controls will remain.<\/p>\n

Audi is coy on technical specifications, confirming only that the concept is purely electric. There are no plans for a combustion engine, whether up front or behind the seats. The Concept C does, however, have mid-engine proportions reminiscent of the R8 rather than the front-engined TT. Size-wise, it seems to slot between the two, raising questions about a possible connection to Porsche\u2019s upcoming electric Boxster and Cayman.<\/p>\n

Competition is always healthy, and we can\u2019t wait to see how BMW and Mercedes respond. In a sea of bulky crossovers and SUVs, enthusiasts would welcome a revival of low-slung, two-seater coupes, even if they\u2019re electric\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The two-door car is a shrinking niche. Just ask BMW. It\u2019s about to pull the plug on the Z4 without planning a direct successor. Adding insult to injury, the 4 Series Coupe and Convertible might not be long for this world either. Still, there\u2019s a glimmer of hope for those seeking a fun car. Come […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":83460,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=83459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/83460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=83459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=83459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}