Malaga, Spain
After his critically-acclaimed performance in the movie District 9, South African actor Sharlto Copley lost his way with that silly put-on accent in Elysium (it sounded like an American actor trying to pull off a South African accent).
Everyone’s allowed one dud movie, I suppose, but one dud car can be a different story. Especially one as iconic as an Audi TT, which when launched back in 1998 was a milestone in automotive design and an image booster for the brand.
But the all-new TT is no dud.
How to keep such a car fresh and relevant in successive generations, without straying too much from the iconic original, is a big balancing act.
The German carmaker nailed that balance with the second-generation TT unveiled in 2006 which was improved in every respect without losing the flavour of the original. I believe Audi’s done it again with version number three.
In the newly-launched TT coupé (it will be followed by the soft-top being launched at this weekend’s Paris Motor Show) the classic shape’s been massaged into a modern incarnation with sharper and more geometric lines but still recognisably an Audi TT.
The characteristic bulging wheel arches are still there, but there are genes from the Audi R family in the vertical LED headlights and the capless refuelling which are inspired by the R18 e-tron le Mans car.
Sharper and more chiselled lines are all evident in the air scoops, headlights and single-frame grille, but an improved drag coefficient makes the car slip through the airstream better.
The wheelbase is lengthened by 37mm with shorter overhangs and the centre of gravity is lowered, while torsional rigidity is improved by 23 percent.
Additional use of aluminium in the body results in a 50kg weight saving over the old TT. There’s been even more of a styling revolution inside the two-door coupé, with centre stage taken by a new digital instrument panel which Audi calls the virtual cockpit. This shows digital representations of an analogue-looking speedo and rev counter as well as a navigation system, all three of which can be resized according to taste in the customisable display.
The dashboard itself is a minimalist affair with very few buttons, and most functions are controlled by an MMI controller located between the front seats, from the multi-function steering wheel, or by an improved voice recognition system that recognises normal speech rather than having to talk like a robot (though it might struggle with Sharlto’s Elysium accent). Audi’s mastered the art of user-friendliness and it’s all intuitive to use (it includes a touchpad with handwriting recognition and a smartphone-like pinch function for map zoooming), but my personal highlight was the design of the air vents with their turbine-design blades and bullseye-mounted control knobs with inbuilt digital readouts.
It adds a special touch to an interior appointed to Audi’s usual swanky standards. As before there’s emergency seating room only in the cramped rear seats, but the boot’s grown by 13 litres and expands to a useful 712 litres with the seats folded.
Audi says you can drift the new TT quattro, thanks its active all-wheel drive which sends more power to the rear wheels during sporty driving.
Perhaps you can, but sideways action didn’t come naturally in the all-wheel-drive TTS which Audi provided for media to test at the Ascari circuit in southern Spain.
It was a neutral-handling car that admittedly had to be manhandled robustly for the wheels to break traction on a dry surface, but when they did start slipping it’s understeer that came a-knocking, not any tail-happy antics. The safer option for inexperienced drivers, no doubt.
In the real-world of driving public roads the TT acquitted itself with slick-handling confidence in the mountain passes near Barcelona, both in front- and quattro-drive versions. But the cornering prowess came at the cost of some ride comfort and on a rough road this Audi didn’t have the bump-soaking finesse of a Porsche Cayman, which is just as sharp a handler.
The 2-litre turbo engine in the flagship TTS is the same unit found in the S3 and the Golf R, and fires 228kW and 380Nm to all four wheels via quattro drive, although SA will get a detuned 210kW/380Nm version due to our hot climate and high altitudes.
This engine shunts the car along with gravelly-voiced gusto. With 380Nm of low-revving torque it’s a low-flying missile that requires little encouragement to whip past long trucks when a swift overtake is required. The TTS quattro S Tronic’s claimed 4.6 second 0-100km/h time is quick enough to grab anyone’s attention and, aided by a sound actuator it’s delivered with a hell-raising howl and a sporty “brupp” between gearshifts.
For now this is the flagship, although a more powerful TTR version will join the range eventually.
Two transmissions are offered in the new TT range. The six-speed manual transmission’s the “purist” choice and snicks with appealing precision, but the dual-clutch S Tronic auto – which includes launch control – is the quicker and slicker option.
The standard Audi TT uses a lesser-powered 2-litre petrol turbo with outputs of 169kW and 370Nm and a much quieter voice.
Paired with quattro drive and the S Tronic gearbox it will reach 100 in a brisk 5.3 seconds (the front-wheel drive manual will take six seconds) but the soft-spoken engine makes it feel like a tamer car.
All versions of the TT have a 250km/h governed top speed.
Overseas there will also be a 135kW/380Nm 2-litre turbodiesel model which won’t be coming to South Africa.
All versions coming here will be equipped with the Audi drive select system where the driver can, at the press of a button, vary the responses of the accelerator and steering.
It also changes the stiffness of the magnetic ride variable damping, which is standard in TTS and optional in TT.
All derivatives have electronic stability control (which can be switched off) and torque vectoring to enhance hard-cornering traction, while front-wheel-drive models also have a limited-slip differential.
The new TT will go on sale here in March next year with indicative pricing of R558 000 for the TT and R642 000 for the TT quattro. The TTS follows in July with the price still to be confirmed.
Standard spec will be generous with even the entry-level version getting Audi MMI navigation Plus, Xenon headlights, Audi music interface with USB, alcantara and leather upholstery, automatic lights and wipers, cruise control, and front sports seats.