Audi steps up the sporty style
ANDREW KOCH
After eight years of being on the market, Audi’s TT sports car is still fresh. It’s a timeless and ever-fashionable vehicle, achieving a longevity that few other car designs can hold claim to. But, like all good things, change is eventually necessary. No longer is the TT just a Golf clad in a party frock -” it’s been transformed into a unique vehicle built on the same platform as the new A5.
The headlamps, grille and chiselled shape of the front bumpers give the new TT a highly aggressive, less feminine look. Instead of being a traditional three-door hatchback, Audi stuck to the slinky coupe shape with big, plumped wheel arches, a style that it has carefully preserved for the second generation.
Unlike the old car, you will notice that the new TT doesn’t have a rear spoiler -” at least one that’s visible when the car is still. The previous generation’s fixed wing, introduced to reduce rear-end lift at high speed is longer. It was added in the early days when a number of the early models literally flipped at high speed on German autobahns. The spoiler has been replaced by a hydraulically operated one that raises at 75 mph, akin to the one you might find on a Porsche Boxster or Cayman.
With the new soon-to-be-released Audi TTS, you will need it. The TTS will not use the 3.2-litre V6 engine found in the Quattro variants. Instead it will use a tweaked variant of the standard 2.0-litre turbo (found in the S3). In order to honour the S badge, Audi engineers have added direct injection and upped the turbo’s boost. The Audi TTS now comes with 202kW and 349Nm of torque with a 0-100km/h time of just 5.2 seconds for the coupe and 5.4 for the roadster.
When it comes to ride the newly configured Audi magnetic ride suspension, which is 10 millimetres lower and comes standard -” adapts almost instantaneously to changes in driving conditions.
The now Audi trademark Xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights are present. They also give the TTS an unmistakable look, whatever the time of day.
Inside, the TTS’ designers have swapped some of the originals for greater driver focus. While the trademark milled aluminium twist vents are still present, the driving environment is much more like a racing car.
Meanwhile, the TT is as practical as before; it continues to bear a four-seat classification, though with the fast roofline preserved, headroom for the rear two passengers isn’t particularly generous. With the seats folded down you have plenty of boot space, enough for a couple of large suitcases when you need to escape that nagging partner or have a romantic getaway.
If you decide to go for the roadster, the fabric roof with acoustic and thermal insulation appears and disappears in only 12 seconds.
It is always hard for a car maker to create something even more beautiful and functional when you have set the bar high, but Audi has managed to do this perfectly with the new TT, and now with the S variant the TT is about to get tough.
AUTO FACTS
Price: $92,900- $100,700
Engines: 2.0-litre four cylinder turbo petrol
Transmissions: 6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic
Power: 202kW, 349Nm
Fuel: 7.9-8.2
