Our friend George over at Fourtitude published an article today that gives us a glimpse into what Audi has planned for the 2008 Detroit Auto Show (North American International Auto Show). While Detroit may seem like an unlikely place for Audi to show some big performance concepts, remember that the NAIAS is the largest auto show in the biggest automotive market in the world. With that in mind, it makes sense for Audi to strut their stuff and show the world they are ready to play in the performance segment.

The first performance offering Audi will unveil is an R8-based concept, which Fourtitude speculates will probably be a convertible model powered by a V10 engine. We all know that V10 rumors have been flying around as long as the R8 project has been in development, so it’s only a matter of time. I personally would like to see a V12 TDI version though.

The next performance offering Audi is showing will be the production version of the upcoming TTS. Relatively undisguised photos of the TTS have been circulating for the last month or so, and shows the direction Audi is headed with their design. The front bumper appears to take on the same bucktoothy appearance that was first shown on the Cross Cabriolet quattro Concept in LA.

One thing that still hasn’t been made certain to us yet is exactly what powertrain the TTS will recieve, although we all seem to be in agreement that the tweaked 2.0TFSI engine out of the European S3 would make the most sense.

Stay tuned as we are headed to frosty Detroit in January to cover the show in full for all 5 of you that read the site.

Source: Fourtitude: Detroit Preview: TTS and Performance Concept Car Planned