Enthusiasts are loving the EV turnaround right now. Brands that once declared their commitment to going all-electric by the end of the decade are now developing new V8s and shoehorning them into anything that'll fit. Porsche has declared it will look at new sports cars above the 911 with combustion power and re-engineer the planned-to-be-electric 718 Cayman/Boxster twins to accommodate combustion engines.But what about Audi? The R8 is dead and gone, as is the TT, but the Concept C sports car is alive and well, with company bosses saying from day one that it was a manifesto for a roadgoing production model rather than inspiration to be left in a museum. The problem is that Concept C shares the EV bones of the planned electric 718. So with automakers pivoting to combustion once more, is Audi going to follow suit? That's what we asked Audi CEO Gernot Döllner during a recent media roundtable in Munich.Audi America To Remain Combustion-Fcused For At Least A Decade When asked by media in attendance whether Audi has plans to continue its EV strategy, Döllner admitted that the one-size-fits-all philosophy Audi was working on a few years ago is no longer viable, and that different regions will require different vehicles. "We will see European and Chinese market dominated by battery electric vehicles," Döllner explains, "and with the changes of the past two years, we see the US, for the next 10 years, at least, being dominated by combustion engine and hybrids."Audi's hybrid lineup has been slim thus far, but Döllner admits flexibility is key, and it's something Audi has thanks to its place within the broader VW Group.AudiSo if the US - a market Döllner admits is one of the largest for Audi and one the brand is prioritizing with models like the flagship Q9 SUV - is going to be combustion-dominated for at least a decade, what does that mean for models like Concept C? Audi Open To Combustion Sports Cars, But The Definition Is Loose Sadly, that stunning concept is going to remain electric, confirmed Döllner. "Asking for that specific model, it will definitely be battery-electric only. We are not thinking about flexibility [for that model] because the global volume we are planning for [it] is quite small." But despite this, he sees a future for Concept C, or C-Sport as it's referred to internally, in the US.Audi"I mean, the US is not one market. It has different regions as well [...] and that concept, I can see [being] a very good fit to the West Coast and parts of the East Coast that are maybe, right now, a little bit more open to battery electric. So we are planning to have that car be battery electric [only]."However, Döllner remains open to other Audi sports cars being powered by combustion or hybrid powertrains. According to the man in charge, "It could be that we think about sports cars with a combustion engine as well for the future." His definition of 'sports cars' remains loose, however, as he followed up by referring to the new RS 5 as "one of those sports cars with four doors with a combustion engine," leaving it open-ended whether the brand might pursue a new R8 with an engine or simply launch the new RS 6 with a plug-in hybrid V8 and consider that a sports car.When asked openly whether Audi might leverage Lamborghini underpinnings, like the 10,000-rpm V8 in the Temerario, Döllner simply laughed, telling us that "it's a great engine in the Temerario; 10,000-rev bi-turbo, really outstanding engine." That's not a no, but it's certainly not a yes, either. We can only live in hope.Lamborghini
