New Models: Audi motorbike-roadster rumoured

[totalmotorcycle]

New Models: Audi motorbike-roadster rumoured
12 Jan 06 - 4 Car - channel4.com


Audi is rumoured to be working on a "puristic roadster" in partnership with Austrian motorcycle company KTM. The project is said to not be strictly official, but to "have the sympathy" of Audi boss Dr Winterkorn, according to Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung; a decision as to whether it will go ahead will be made in two or three months, and it could go into production in 2007. The paper quotes a senior Audi official as saying that the company was in discussion with "working groups at development level".

This two-seater roadster, said to have been inspired by the Lotus Seven, is thought to have a 250bhp, four-cylinder VW Group engine, and to weigh just 700kg. Its KTM-developed structure may be classified as a motorcycle rather than a car, demanding that occupants wear a helmet. However, unlike the Volkswagen GX3 prototype seen at the Los Angeles Auto Show last week, it will have four, rather than three, wheels.

The report suggests that the roadster could be revealed at the Bologna Motor Show at the end of the year, probably under the KTM brand. It would be made in Austria by either KTM or Magna Steyr, and a starting price is estimated at around 35,000euros.