WORK OF ART
Inside and out, the new 2015 Audi TT S is a lesson in styling and performance.
ASCARI MOTORSPORT PARK, Spain • It is the oldest trick in the automotive parlour. Take one icon — say, just for argument’s sake, the Audi TT I am testing this week — go back in time to the groundbreaking original, steal a few design cues, dress them up with a few modern styling flourishes and voila you have a new car. Oh, there will be some grousing about “not pushing the envelope” and maybe a few anoraks will remind you that the original, now so venerated, was actually perceived as being a bit soft when it was released in 1998.
Nonetheless, the new 2015 version is quite faithful to the original (the less-adored second-gen seemingly tossed under the bus). Oh, the lines on the flanks and rear fenders are more sharply creased and the front and rear overhangs even more dramatically muted, but even Audi’s official press kit points to a shape “intentionally evocative of the first-generation design,” pointing to the wide wheel arches, the trademark flat greenhouse space and, of course, the classic TT-embossed (as in Tourist Trophy, not Tradition & Technology) fuel filler flap.
What has changed dramatically, however, is the TT’s gravitas. The first gen was indeed a little soft, not just in shape but in intent. A little soft of suspension and lethargic of steering, it also lacked some high-speed stability. The second generation may have lost a little of the original’s cuteness, but it gained a whole bunch of sports car bona fides. By the time it evolved into the five-cylinder TT RS, it was serious as a heart attack — faster, by Audi’s own reckoning, than its R8-née-Lamborghini Gallardo supercar on some racetracks. Big shoes, then, for the third generation to fill, needing to match the beauty of first and build on the superior performance of the second.
Something the new TT S promises to do. Although not imbued with the RS’s 360 horsepower, the new S version of the 2.0-litre TFSI now boasts 310 horses versus the 265 of its predecessor. The TT S’s performance is further enhanced by a weight saving of some 50 kilograms, meaning that the new TT S’s power-toweight ratio is but 10% less than the previously all-conquering RS, reflected in the TT S’s 4.6-second scamper to 100 kilometres an hour, half a second faster than the previous S and only 0.5 seconds behind the 2014 five-cylinder RS.
More impressive still is the little four-banger’s willingness to be flogged. Unlike so many turbocharged fours, this version of 2.0L TFSI revs hard and fast. Indeed, all of the TT’s engines — the European 2.0L TDI included — are limited to 280 pound-feet of torque because of limitations with the current six-speed doubleclutch transmission. So the S’s greater performance is very much biased toward high revs. Below 3,500 rpm, then, both the 230 horsepower base model and 310-hp S feel remarkably similar and only as the now digital tachometer swings past four grand does the S seem to grow another lung. Then, it screams like a banshee up to its 7,000 rpm redline while the base model goes for a siesta at anything above 5,500. The S even adds a little bark to its bite, Audi feeding a little unburnt fuel into the exhaust at high rpm so that the TFSI gives a little Formula One backfire when shifting at maximum revs. McLarens may not tremble in fear but it does add a little drama to the soundtrack.
The chassis’ sportiness is likewise upgraded, more stiffly sprung and more rigid than previous TT’s. Indeed, where the previous S would tie itself in knots when pushed on a racetrack, the 2015 acquits itself quite well, only some smoke-prone front brakes limiting how much — and for how long — fun may be had.
Grip from the Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 2 245/35ZR19s had the S hanging on with a tenacity usually reserved for Pit Bulls and their vise-like jaws. Wet sections of the Ascari track — yes it can rain in Spain — proved the worth of Audi’s quattro system, the added traction combining with the company’s vaunted stability control system to allow us to ignore the damp bits with confidence.
Indeed, chassis-wise, the big improvement to the third-gen TT is that Audi’s Drive Select system now modifies quattro’s torque distribution to all four wheels. Economy mode, for instance, delays torque transfer to the rear wheels in its quest for fuel efficiency. Dynamic mode, conversely, speeds up torque delivery to the rear for superior turn-in. And torque vectoring — the distribution of power between inside and outside wheels — is delayed in Dynamic mode so that the tail can be drifted all slippy-slidey through high-speed turns.
The most impressive thing about the new TT, however, is that despite all this talk of refreshed exterior styling and performance upgrades, its real innovation is how Audi has yet again managed to revolutionize the automobile interior. The bit that’s getting all the headlines in the all-new TT is its new Virtual Cockpit, Audi’s 12.3-inch high-resolution TFT screen that replaces the standard analog gauge set. Configurable through three basic settings (two in the basic TT), the big screen can be mostly map, mostly gauges or, in the case of the TT S, one ginormous tachometer for those times when there’s precious little time to discern what gear you should be in.
But the interior’s real revolution is more organic than digital. The problem with onboard computers has been the proliferation of buttonry required to manage all those megabytes. Audi has conquered the unnecessary convolutions by simply putting the switchgear where it is used. So, for instance, the air conditioning controls are now little rotary knobs located in the centre of the dashboard’s three main vents. In other words, the climate controls are right where you’d look if you were trying to alter your climate. Along with a simplification of the MMI menu, it means that the dash only has about six toggles. The TT’s interior design is the cleanest in recent memory and will no doubt leave competitors scrambling to match it.
And, I suppose, that fits in with Audi’s purpose. What was once a revolution in exterior styling is now revolutionizing interior design. As long as something is being revolutionized, I suspect Audi designers are happy.