Audi TT Sportback leaked

We knew Audi was planning to reveal a third TT model after the TT Coupe was unveiled in March at the Geneva motor show, and the TT Roadster yesterday, and now it seems a five-door sportback model is the next cab off the rank, dubbed the TT Sportback.

German website Autozeitung.de leaked this design sketch of the new Audi TT Sportback ahead of its official debut at the Paris motor show on October 2, and claims the new car will rival vehicles such as the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class compact sedan.

The idea behind the new five-door TT model is that it would provide a more stylish and sporty alternative to the A3 sedan.

Measuring 4.47 metres from nose to tail, the TT Sportback is slightly longer than the 4.45 metre Audi A3 sedan, and will be based on the same MQB architecture. It will also offer sporty-minded TT buyers more boot space than its shorter siblings, up to 850 litres with the rear seats folded down.

No official details of the new model have been revealed, but it's clear from the sketch the car is cut from the same cloth as the TT Coupe and Roadster, its pumped wheel arches and smoothly curving roofline the telltales.

Engine types are likely to mirror the TT range, which means a high-end TT S Sportback is a likely starter, powered by a 228kW/380Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, or TFSI in Audi-speak. Autozeitung.de reckons the car could arrive in dealerships by 2017.

Audi technical chief, Ulrich Hackenberg, has significant sway over the decision-making process in Ingolstadt, where the company is headquartered, and it seems he wasn't fibbing when he said several new models could wear TT badges, from wagons, compact cars and sportbacks.

The Audi TT Sportback concept is the first time the TT badge has moved away from coupe and convertible body styles, but with BMW and Mercedes-Benz pushing ahead with smaller, sportier models, expect to see more TT variants in the years to come.