Audi's TT Offroad concept appears to be moving from idea to product in time for the 2017 model line-up.

While it might seem like an automotive oxymoron, Audi has apparently decided it wants to go off-roading with its little TT model.

According to reports out of the maker’s headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany, Audi has performed triage on a trio of TT-based concept cars it introduced over the past year as part of a plan to get consumer feedback on how to expand the TT “family.”

The effort began at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show when Audi unveiled a three-door wagon-like model dubbed the Allroad Shooting Brake concept. The various models included a bold red five-door take on the TT, dubbed the Sportbrake, unveiled at the Paris Motor Show last autumn.

The winner made its debut in mid-2014 at the Beijing Motor Show in the form of the TT Offroad, a canary yellow concept that envisioned a high-riding five-door crossover that maintained the curvaceous TT roofline and other styling cues.

Audi's Allroad Shooting Brake had observers mulling what it is: crossover, sport utility or station wagon?

Initial media and public response was strong enough that Audi CEO Rupert Stadler indicated his brand would put one of the models into production.

But consumer feedback was apparently part of the challenge. Audi also had to ensure they were practical enough. The Shooting Brake concept wasn’t expected to generate much traction outside Europe, while the Allroad was deemed too cramped.

Apparently, there was another factor that influenced the project. Audi has used the Q badge for its utility vehicles, the Q3, Q5 and Q7. It was hoping to add a small, more coupe-like model meant to compete with the likes of the BMW X4 and X6 lines. Unfortunately, it didn’t own the Q4 trademark which was registered to Fiat Chrysler’s Alfa Romeo brand, reports Britain’s Car magazine.

“We have no choice but to make a virtue out of necessity,” a senior manager from Ingolstadt told Car. “By taking the TTQ route, we avoid the confrontation with Fiat, we don’t overcrowd the Q corral, and we add a fresh twist to the TT theme.”(

(Audi Allroad Shooting Brake defies easier categorization. For more, Click Here.)

In concept form, the TT Offroad measures about 173 inches, but it also rides on the same 104-inch wheelbase of the current TT, as well as the A3 Sportback. Whether that would hold in production is unclear. The overall dimensions also are essentially identical to the current Audi Q3.

Audi's TT Sportback concept features a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that puts out 400 hp.

And it would use the same MQB modular architecture shared by a wide range of products throughout parent Volkswagen AG’s family, including the latest-generation VW Golf.

(Click Here for details about Audi’s next-gen TT.)

How much off-roading a TT Offroad could handle is uncertain. It would almost certainly be limited to jaunts on rough gravel and ruts, as well as urban winter snowstorms. It’s unlikely to be targeted at those who take on any serious trails.

(To see more about Audi’s choice of three TT concepts, Click Here.)

If all goes according to plan, the new TT Offroad would likely be launched for the 2017 model-year.