A ‘ CHICK CAR’ NO MORE
THE REVVED-UP 2018 AUDI TT RS CAN NOW OUT- SPRINT A PORSCHE 718 CAYMAN
CIRCUITO DEL JAR AMA,
SPAIN •“Wow !” I thought, railing Audi’s new TT RS into Jarama’s way- too- highspeed (at least for me) Ascari sweeper, Pirelli PZeros starting to moan their familiar protest. “This used to be a chick car.”
Never mind that that pejorative was a manifestation — a mistaken manifestation, to be sure — of men imagining that women didn’t want a sports car, only one that looked sporty. The truth is there is precious little difference between what men and women want out of a sporty coupe. And the soft, squidgy “chick” cars they were trying to foist on women weren’t all that popular with, well, chicks. Dated and erroneous as it may be, however, that descriptor is still used to describe a sports car that is all style and no substance.
Such was the original Audi TT. Effete in the extreme, the only thing even remotely sporty was the fact that its engine was turbocharged, this back in the day when a turbocharged engine was still something special, even in performance cars. Even so, there was only 225 horsepower to be had — and that in only the higher-boost 1.8-litre variant — and Audi’s trademark Quattro all-wheel drive was tailored to family sedan-like understeer.
Its sporting bona fides weren’t helped by the fact that its high- speed stability was so bad it needed an emergency rejigging of its chassis. A wing had to be added to the rear deck lid to increase downforce, suspension recalibrated to prevent roll, and electronic stability control added so the darned thing wouldn’t spin like a top. In trying to make the TT soft and squidgy enough for the perceived needs of its intended audience, all Audi did was make it unsafe.
Fast-forward 20 years and Audi now offers the 2018 RS version of the TT, as sublimely serious as the original was poncy. Four cylinders have grown to five, displacement from 1.8 L to 2.5 L and, most importantly, the original’s piddling 225 horses are now a stomping 400-hp herd.
What once had a hard time out- dragging a breathed- on Volkswagen Golf ( zero to 100 km/ h in a leisurely 7.8 seconds!) will now outsprint a Porsche 718 Cayman — yes, all you Porschephiles, even the Cayman S — by almost a second: a supercar- like 3.7 seconds for the new top- ofthe- line TT versus a seemingly middling 4.6 seconds for the new Cayman S.
And doesn’t it just romp around a racetrack! First off, thanks to its unique 1- 2- 45- 3 firing order, says Audi, it fairly barks nasty intent once the tachometer passes 3,000 rpm. Audi makes a big deal about adjacent cylinders firing right after one another being responsible for the authoritative exhaust note, but personally I think it’s because they’ve jacked the maximum boost to 20 psi. Whatever the case, where base TTs sound wimpy, the RS feels sharp and focused, again outrocking the Cayman S.
It feels plenty quick. The truth is that, thanks to the larger turbocharger Audi credits for the 40-horsepower jump from the previous fivecylinder TT RS, the latest feels a little flaccid below 2,500 rpm. But that just makes the kick in the pants at 3,500 rpm that much swifter. Above 4,000 rpm, it’s a veritable rocket ship. Row the seven-speed DCT’s paddle shifters — or just leave the semiautobox in its sport mode — and all those 400 horses, having only 1,440 kilograms to motivate, feel pretty darned supercar-like.
In fact, the only thing spoiling the party is that the rev limiter kicks in pretty sharply at the 7,000- rpm redline, Audi obviously worried about fragging the long stroke (82.5-mm x 92.8-mm) engine by revving it too high. Exacerbating the occasional frustration is that the little five- cylinder spins so fast that, in the lower gears of the seven- speed dual- clutch transmission — sorry, no manual is available — it is sometimes hard to paddleshift fast enough to contain the engine’s enthusiasm. Better that, of course, than lethargy. But it does mean that the rapid way around a track may be short- shifting the Stronic gearbox.
The TT RS is equally adroit arcing around corners. TTs have always pushed their front ends, understeer being the inevitable result of a forward torque bias and Audi’s natural predilection toward caution. Not the 2018 TT RS. Indeed, it was hard to make it slide any of its tires, so exacting was the computercontrolled AWD system’s distribution of torque. No matter how hard you hammer on the gas, the optional P255/ 30ZR20 Pirelli PZero Corsa tires stick like glue.
Indeed, as one wag lamented, the TT RS sticks so tenaciously to tarmac that it makes it almost too easy to corner. Where’s the drama if something isn’t sliding, seemed to be the complaint. No matter. Whatever your preference in comportment — precision or drama — this much is clear: the new TT RS is a serious competitor to Porsche’s Cayman.
Indeed, if you’re getting the impression that Audi’s latest T Tout-Po rs ch es Porsche’s own Cayman, that’s the impression we were left with as well. Oh, there might be a little more drama to the Cayman’s performance and a little more feedback through its steering wheel, but the new TT RS sees that and then ups the ante with a bunch more horsepower, more supple suspension and, then for the coup de grâce, tops it all off with enough practicality not to be pigeonholed as an enthusiasts-only sports car.
In other words, it engages both sides of the brain, which my women friends are always telling me, is a trait where the female of our species excels compared with we mere males. Maybe that should be the new definition of a “chick” car.
The 2018 Audi TT RS won’t be available in Canada until next summer. Don’t look for much change back from $75,000.