Audi TT has a new look

It comes in the new shape for the Audi TT, the rounded roadster which became a German sports star through the 1990s.

The new look for the TT is all about angles and edges, with a stretched body that is longer and lower than before.

Audi says the second-generation TT, which should be on sale in Australia early in 2007, is more taut than before thanks to a low, narrow look which is just as bullish as the original.

It has stayed true to the sports car position for the TT, despite hints at a hatchback future in the Shooting Brake concept it showed last year, and says the 'visual code' of circles and domes from the first car has been carried over.

The difference is that the new car is 137 millimetres longer and 78 millimetres wider, which has totally changed the proportions. Big new wheels, up in size from 16 to 19 inches, also change the look.

Audi says the new TT is still a 2-plus-2 coupe but that it has used more high-tech materials, including aluminium for 69 per cent of the car's superstructure.

The TT will come with two engines, a 2-litre turbocharged four with 147 kiloWatts and a 3.2-litre V6 with 185 kiloWatts. The smaller engine still gives a 0-100km.h sprint time of 6.4 seconds while the V6 trims the time to 5.7 seconds and adds a top speed limited to 250km/h.

The four-cylinder car is front-wheel drive but the V6 picks up Audi's signature quattro all-wheel drive and the company expects strong demand for an upgrade from the standard six-speed manual to its high- tech dual-clutch manu-matic.

The car's cabin has been totally re-worked and the giveaway to the new model is a race-style flat-bottom steering wheel, which improves access for the driver.

There is no news yet on the arrival of a second-generation TT convertible, but it is only a question of time before the new coupe gets the top-down treatment.