Details are few, but Audi has decided to pass on building its Malibu Maxx Roadjet concept. All of the flowery prose about how the Roadjet is “a vehicle that blends the latest evolutionary stage of Audi’s formal idiom with an entirely new space concept” with an “unprecedented synthesis of performance, liveliness, and efficiency” are now considered overstatements by Ingolstadt.
Even though it’s packing a 300 horsepower V6 and a 7-speed DSG cog-swapper, Audi didn’t feel that the Roadjet would live up to the image that the brand wishes to cultivate. The hardware is likely not the reason – other Audis will share those pieces. It seems Audi took a hard look at America’s hate affair with hatchbacks, and got cold feet. It’s a shame, really, because a brand like Audi could do a bit to re-legitimize hatchbacks here. [Automotive News – Sub Req’d]