ANOTHER SHOT AT THE TITLE

Can the hottest version of the TT provide the driver appeal its predecessor lacked?

SENTENCE three of the TT RS’ press pack finds Audi in an uncompromising mood. “Driving pleasure guaranteed!” it proclaims, having teed off with the model’s increasingly lofty power output. The exclamation mark is meant as playful confirmation of what ought to be obvious to the reader, but it’s possible to take it as huffy Germanic consternation, too: “You must like it now, surely!”

The previous TT RS did appeal in a chin-jutting, brazenly pushy kind of way, but mostly we thought it was prodigiously quick and fabulous sounding, yet still overtly lacking in the dynamic subtlety that has made the Porsche Cayman probably the most agreeable sportscar of its generation.

The TT RS’ engine – the indubitably splendid 2,5-litre throwback five-pot turbo – was categorically not the issue. Yet, characteristically, it is here where Audi has invested a good deal of time, extracting an additional 45 kw from an identical displacement, while at the same time reducing its overall mass by 26 kg (exchanging a steel crankcase for an aluminium one accounts for most of that saving).

With peak silliness now at 295 kw, the Coupé (there’s a Roadster, too, although it won’t make its way to South Africa) is rated at 3,7 seconds to reach 100 km/h, which is almost a second quicker than the manual 718 Cayman S and only a few 10ths slower than the current R8. The chassis, meanwhile, is a familiar reworking of the existing TT’S. The RS gets the quickerreacting evolution of the current electro-hydraulic all-wheel-drive system to go with model-specific tuning of the suspension, ESC and steering rack.

Compared with the TTS, it sits 10 mm lower on firmer springs, that remain passive unless you upgrade to the magnetic dampers, and wears stiffer bushes. The Quattro drivetrain is carried over from the RS3, although this time much less is made of the supposed back-axle playfulness attributed to that car.

Audi is keener to emphasise the RS’ established appeal as flag bearer for the TT line-up, a role for which the car has been visibly bulked up. The enlarged air intakes and fixed rear spoiler serve to assist a more efficient intercooler and lustier aero, but their aggressive appearance pays greater dividends when it comes to the model’s market position.

Ditto the cabin, which, like all variants of the TT, is a wallto-wall triumph. Audi’s easyon-the-eye Virtual Cockpit is