Audi TT RS
Blast off in storming new 395bhp coupé
PORSCHE has shown a chink in its armour in 2016 with the still brilliant but much less charismatic new four-cylinder 718 Cayman S. So if you’re looking for a compact performance coupé with an engine that offers real personality, the Audi TT RS offers a compelling alternative to its droning fellow VW Group stablemate.
It’s fair to say that the previous TT RS wasn’t exactly a smash hit when it came to driving dynamics. However, with its sharper MQB chassis, this latest car promises more involving, agile handling, a substantial performance hike and even greater efficiency, all at the same time.
The heart of the TT RS is its new 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbocharged engine, which is 26kg lighter than before due to extensive use of aluminium. Thanks to a new injection system, power has also been boosted to a colossal 395bhp, which has a profound effect in a small coupé such as this. The TT RS now offers proper supercar performance. With launch control deployed, the 0-62mph sprint is demolished in only 3.7 seconds. However, with 480Nm of torque spread over a wide range between 1,750rpm and 5,850rpm, you don’t have to wind the engine out to the red line to make eye-widening progress.
In the mid-range, the motor pulls strongly and delivers a silky, off-beat growl that’s full of character. It’s something you simply can’t get in the Cayman range any more.
As in Audi’s R8 halo model, there’s only one gearbox available. It’s a seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch that sends power to all four wheels via the famed quattro system. However, seventh gear is so long it’s best to think of this as a sportier, close-ratio, six-speed unit with top gear best saved for fast cruising. The changes are rapidfire on the way up the box and perfectly blipped on the way down, with each upshift announced by a crack from the exhaust or a volley of pops when slowing down.
Unlike the R8, however, the all-wheeldrive system is based on Haldex technology, and while it gives the TT RS huge traction, it’s not as flexible as some four-wheel-drive set-ups. The TT RS weighs 130kg more than the Cayman S fitted with a PDK auto, and although the MQB underpinnings do a fair job of hiding this weight, the sizeable 2.5litre five-pot up front means a lot of that mass is concentrated in the nose. While the RS grips and grips on the road, we found that the default balance is to settle into understeer if you push hard on the track.
The TT RS doesn’t have the poise of the Cayman, then, but if you’re slow into corners and then lean on the four-wheel-drive system and the engine’s savage power on the way out, it’s still a devastatingly quick way to devour bends. There’s plenty of grip
“In the mid-range the engine pulls strongly and delivers a silky, offbeat growl that’s full of character”
for road driving, which the fast, precise steering allows you to exploit, giving the RS impressive agility.
It used to be the norm that fast Audis were unapologetically stiff, but this is no longer the case. The TT RS sits 10mm lower than the standard car, and gives solid body control. Of course, with 19-inch wheels as standard and 20s available as an option – as fitted to our test car – it does feel firm. We tried the car on a smooth Spanish road, so we’ll have to wait to see what it rides like in the UK – but the faster you drive the RS, putting more energy into the suspension, the better the car sits.
Despite the TT RS’S capability on twisty roads, when you drop the car into Comfort mode its dampers give just enough compliance over bad surfaces. Only the worst bumps fizz through the structure.
Finally, given the performance on offer, claimed economy of 34.4mpg and CO2 emissions of 187g/km seem fair enough.