The eagerly-awaited successor to Audi’s iconic TT has been unveiled in Berlin. The newcomer embodies many of the styling cues of the R8 and Shooting Brake concept, but its sharper contours are in stark contrast with the original TT’s classic design.
The eagerly-awaited successor to Audi’s iconic TT has been unveiled in Berlin. The newcomer embodies many of the styling cues of the R8 and Shooting Brake concept, but its sharper contours are in stark contrast with the original TT’s classic design.
CARtoday.com reported in January that the Audi TT, with its unmistakable (some say timeless) upside-down-bathtub-with-huge-wheels styling, would soon be replaced. As a tribute to the 1998 original, Audi SA made available 28 units of the TT quattro Sport.
And on Thursday night, the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer finally unveiled the second generation of the TT, which will make its public début at the upcoming New York Show. Audi claims its design team, led by Walter de Silva, adopted and enhanced the “circles and domes” motif of the previous TT, but the newcomenr (based on the A3 platform) is more sharply sculpted and has a stretched profile.
The squat, athletic stance and low, narrow styling of the greenhouse remain, but the profiled bonnet is reminiscent of the R8 and the headlights and interior layout is not dissimilar to that of the Shooting Brake concept from last year’s Tokyo Show and Roadjet show car exhibited in Detroit.
The new TT is 137 mm longer than its predecessor at 4 178 mm, 78 mm wider at 1 842 mm and the body is constructed in the ASF Space Frame design developed by Audi. It consists of aluminium (69 per cent) and steel components, the latter found at the rear end, “so as to ensure balanced distribution of the axle loads”, Audi claims.
To improve downforce, a spoiler extends from the tailgate when the vehicle reaches 120 km/h. The car’s luggage capacity is 290 litres, which can be increased to 700 by folding down the rear seat backs.
The front-wheel drive base model will be offered with a 147 kW 2,0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol powerplant (featuring FSI direct injection) mated with a six-speed manual transmission – GTI aficionados should recognise the configuration! The base TT can reportedly accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in 6,4 seconds and reach a top speed of 240 km/h. The flagship model has quattro permanent four-wheel drive and a 184 kW 3,2-litre V6 under the bonnet. Audi claims the six-speed manual version will bolt from zero to 100 km/h in 5,7 seconds and reach a governed top speed of 250 km/h.
Compared with its predecessor, the newcomer has a multi-link rear suspension, wider track, larger wheels (ranging from 16 to 19 inches in size) and “extensive changes in the area of elasto-kinematics”, Audi says. One of the new TT’s hallmarks, the Ingolstadt marque claimed, was “self-steering behaviour right up to the handling limits, which ranges from neutral to light understeer”.
First showcased on the Shooting Brake concept, Audi’s magnetic ride damper system will be available as an option… Tiny magnetic particles circulate in the oil inside the shock absorbers. When a voltage is applied to them, they alter the damping characteristics within milliseconds. This adaptive system simultaneously ensures high levels of ride comfort and thoroughly sporty dynamism, according to the specific driving scenario and the preferences of the driver.
The standard features of the new Audi TT include an automatic air conditioning system, a flat-bottomed multi-function sports steering wheel and a new-generation Audi audio system with state-of-the-art reception and playback technology and intuitive user control. The three circular air vents, steering wheel spokes and several of the controls are finished in an aluminium look. An adaptive cornering light system and the Audi parking aid system are optional extras.
Like its predecessor, the TT will initially be available as a 2+2 coupé and a roadster model is scheduled for 2007. DSG transmissions are available on both the two-litre and V6 models. There is also talk of an RS flagship, powered by a 2.0-litre bi-turbo unit and a diesel TT.
