Audi Considering Mid-Engine Layout for Next-Gen TT?

AUBURN HILLS, MI – Audi’s next-gen TT may be getting a significant re-design, with a mid-engine placement if the speculation is true. Now in its second-generation, the TT sits on Volkswagen’s PQ35 platform (shared with the Volkswagen Eos and Tiguan), meaning customers are offered a front-engine chassis with a front- or all-wheel drive powertrain, according to www.autoblog.com.

When stacked against the front-engine BMW Z4 and mid-engine Porsche Boxster/Cayman, the current Audi TT holds its own, but the Ingolstadt engineers realize that if they switch to a mid-engine design, like the one found on the Audi R8, balance and handling will improve.

Plus, Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system can be tailored with even more rearward torque bias. The third-gen TT, however, isn’t set to debut until 2013.