Audi TT News

Audi is celebrating the manufacture of its 500,000th TT sports car by launching an exclusive special edition. The new special edition is called the 2014 Audi TTS Competition and production will be limited to just 500 units.As the name suggests, the cars are based on the TTS model and come with some sporty upgrades. They are available exclusively in the special paint finishes Imola yellow or Nimbus gray, and their exterior calling card is a fixed rear wing with bars in a matte finish. They also come with 19-inch wheels featuring a five-arm Rotor design and are shod with beefy 225/35 tires.Inside, the cars get gray leather trim with yellow contrast stitching. Aluminum badges on the door trims embossed with “1 of 500” further accentuate the exclusivity of the special edition. Being based on the TTS, the cars also benefit from xenon headlights, Audi magnetic ride damper control and aluminum accents in the cabin.No changes have been made to the powertrain, which means a 2.0-litre TFSI engine outputting 203kW and 350Nm of torque. Paired with a six-speed dual-clutch transmission, coupe versions of the TTS Competition will hit 100km/h in 5.3 seconds and a governed top speed of just under 250km/h.The TTS Roadster Competition takes 5.5 seconds for the 0-100 km/h run and is limited to the same 250 km/h top speed as the coupe. Fuel economy comes in at around 7.4L/100kms, based on European combined figures.The 2014 Audi TTS Competition will be shown for the first time at the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show next month before hitting showrooms towards the end of the year. Pricing and availability will be announced closer to launch.The original TT was launched in 1998 and almost immediately hailed as a design icon. The second generation followed in 2006 and will be replaced next year by a third-generation TT.www.motorauthority.com

Light makes right when it comes to any performance car. When light is done as well as the Audi TT ultra quattro concept, it's very, very right.Billed as an example of how "motorsports meets quattro", the TT ultra quattro concept weighs in at just 1111 kilograms. Generating 227kW, each of the car’s horses has just 3.6 kilograms to carry.This video shows what that feels like on the road. It features two-time Le Mans winner André Lotterer taking the concept out for a quick spin.The video is in German but it’s obvious Lotterer is in love with the car’s handlings and dynamics.Weighing about 299 kilos less than a standard TT, the TT ultra quattro concept gets there by using lightweight components and advanced materials, most of which is carbon fiber.Unique equipment for the car includes a carbon fiber wing on milled aluminum supports, large front spoiler, ceramic brake rotors with aluminum calipers, titanium exhaust, and ultra-light carbon fiber and aluminum wheels. The exterior mirrors have even been replaced by cameras that transfer the images directly into the digital cockpit.Weight distribution is also considered, with the Audi engineers moving as much weight as possible away from the ends of the car and toward the middle, to reduce the polar moment of inertia; a lithium-ion starter battery sits under the driver's seat.Even the 2.0-litre TFSI turbocharged engine has been lightened and modified. Power is raised to 231 kW and 399 Nm of torque; the crankcase, crankshaft, balance shafts, flywheel, oil sump, and bolts, as well as some of the accessory systems, have been lighted by a total of 55 pounds.While this exercise in ultra-light construction with a motorsports theme isn't something we ever expect to see directly transferred to production, many of the lightweight construction techniques could appear in some of Audi’s future models. In fact, the automaker is believed to be planning a lightweight version of its next-generation TT sports car.The Audi TT ultra quattro concept made its debut at the 2013 Wörthersee Tour in Austria this week.www.motorauthority.com

The popular Audi and Volkswagen tuning fest, Austria's Wörthersee Tour, will see a number of interesting vehicles presented this year, the highlight of which will be a lightweight Audi TT concept. Audi is believed to be planning a lightweight version of its next-generation TT sports car and many of the lightweight design elements of that future car are likely present on this new concept, which is based on the current generation of the TT. The concept is called the TT ultra quattro, with “ultra” being the name used by Audi for its lightweight construction methodology. The vehicle has a curb weight of just 1,111kg, despite it packing a turbocharged engine and all-wheel-drive system. Peak output from the car’s turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine is 228kW and 400Nm, which in the lightweight body sees the 0-96 km/h sprint take just 4.2 seconds (1.3 seconds faster than stock). Each of the car’s kilowatts has just 4.87kg to carry. To reduce weight, engineers stripped the car of some non-essentials and replaced parts of the structure using lighter materials in line with the automaker’s evolving multi-material construction techniques. Regular steel ended up being replaced with carbon fibre, magnesium and aluminium. Engineers also stuck with a regular manual transmission but swapped the TT’s seats for lightweight units from the R8 GT. Interestingly, air conditioning, electric window controls and an electromechanical parking brake are still fitted. One key difference is present, however. The exterior mirrors have been replaced by compact cameras that transfer the images directly into the digital cockpit. More than 23kg were saved in the engine alone, by replacing parts like the crankcase, crankshaft, balancer shafts, flywheel, oil sump and several nuts and bolts with lighter units. The suspension was also replaced with a lighter setup, some parts of which are made from fibreglass-reinforced plastic. More savings come from carbon ceramic brakes, a titanium system and wheels made from carbon fibre-reinforced plastic and aluminium. Total weight savings add up to 300kg. Finally, engineers also worked to hone the handling of the TT. They have taken away weight from the ends of the car and moved it into the middle. The lithium-ion starter battery, for example, is now located in the interior under the driver’s seat. It is much smaller than a lead battery and weighs as little as 4kg The 2013 Wörthersee Tour will take place from May 8-11. Also on show will be the legendary Sport quattro S1, the latest RS line of cars and the race-winning R18 e-tron quattro. www.motorauthority.com

Audi's second-generation TT has reached what we call 'a certain age' and a new one should be in the works.But while internet forums are abuzz with chat of a lighter, stronger third-generation TT - which retains the ragtop hood, the local HQ says there's nothing official on a replacement for the popular little sportscar."There is no official communication on a new TT. Nothing's been announced by Audi AG," Audi Australia spokesperson Anna Burgdorf says.We're not likely to see the next generation here until 2015, and so in the meantime the brand will try to keep sparking interest from buyers in the TT's style-conscious segment.Enter the S Line Competition package, which dresses up the TT 2.0 TFSI models with $8000 worth of kit for an extra $1800 over the models' standard prices.That puts the 155kW/350Nm Audi TT 2.0 TFSI with six-speed S-tronic dual-clutch at $76,850 and the quattro version at $79,450, adding cosmetic and aerodynamic features for the extra ask.The Competition package includes model-specific bumpers, air inlets and side sills, S line badges, a fixed rear wing -- similar to the TT RS -- exhaust add-ons and a tweaked rear diffuser insert. The nose also gets gloss-black trim bits (also covering the exterior mirrors) and xenon-plus headlights and the LED daytime running lights.Available in orange and white metallic, or grey and red pearl effect paint colours, the Competition  special edition sits on black 19-in wheels with 255/35 profile rubber.The cabin gets specific door sill trims, as well as extra "aluminium-look" trim bits, leather trim package, Nappa leather sports seats and the chunkier flat-bottomed wheel from the TT RS.Audi has already given the TT RS - not a model that was low-profile to begin with - a special-edition TT RS Plus variant, with 15 more kiloWatts and 15 Newton metres and a sub-5-second sprint to 100km/h.The German marque also added the 7-speed S tronic to the TT RS models, with Bose sound system, 19in alloys, adaptive headlights, LED interior lighting, full leather trim and a sports-exhaust system among the added features. 

This compact sports coupe stands out for its awesome performance from a five-cylinder turbo with 265kW/465Nm. The 2.5-litre TFSI engine in the Audi TT RS plus has been tweaked electronically for 15kW more power and 15Nm more torque.The seven-speed S tronic delivers lightning-fast gearshifts. This dual-clutch transmission comes with a launch control function which optimises acceleration from a standing start. The quattro permanent all-wheel drive system, which operates with a multi-plate clutch, transfers engine power to the road.Against the backdrop of the five-cylinder engine's characteristic growl, the TT RS plus sprints from a standstill to 100 km/h in a blistering 4.1 seconds. Fuel consumption is rated at 8.5 litres/100km. The TT RS plus weighs just 1475 kilograms, giving a power-to-weight ratio of 5.6 kilograms per kW.The high-performance brake system is able to cope with the engine's power at all times. Four-piston fixed callipers in conjunction with perforated brake discs are installed on the front axle. The Audi TT RS plus is fitted with 19-inch cast wheels of five-arm “Rotor” design which are painted black with contrasting red rim flanges. The wheels are fitted with 255/35 tyres.The adaptive damping system known as Audi magnetic ride is fitted as standard equipment. A large, fixed rear wing increases downforce at the back of the car. The singleframe radiator grille also sets the Audi TT RS plus apart visually. Its diamond-pattern mesh is in highly polished anthracite and is trimmed with a matt aluminium-look frame.The housings of the exterior mirrors are made of carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP), while the dual-branch sport exhaust system has black oval tailpipe trims. A sound flap further intensifies the sound of the engine. 

The spiced-up version of the Audi TT-RS that is on the dance card for Geneva may be on the cards for Australia. To be released overseas as both a coupe and roadster, the TT RS Plus boosts the TT's 2.5-litre turbo five- cylinder by 15kW of power to 265kW, and adds an extra 15Nm of torque for 465Nm.Buyers can self-shift with a six-speed manual or let a seven-speed dual-clutch do the work for them. The automatic is an attractive option when it comes with a launch control mode that can teleport the Plus Coupe to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds (the manual is only barely behind at 4.3 seconds) - and that's getting into Ferrari territory, friends. Top speed is limited to 280 km/h, and Audi claims the auto Ccoupe uses 8.5L/100km, with the Roadster at 8.6L. Style changes nose in with the black diamond-mesh of the single-frame grille, and tail out with a large fixed rear wing. The black accents carry through into five-spoke 19-in cast alloys -- with red rim flanges -- and black oval tailpipe trims, down the throat of which a 'reverber' amplifies the engine sound.The good news? Audi Australia is considering the TT RS Plus for local sales. “We don’t have a final date for launch overseas at this stage, but we are certainly looking at it with interest for the Australian line-up,” Audi general manager of corporate communications Anna Burgdorf says. Burgdorf says Audi wants to make sure they have a good business case for the TT RS Plus, but admits Australians are likely to warm to it.Audi steadily sold more than 35 TT variants per month over 2010 and 2011, and this year has started off with an average closer to 40 per month YTD. Sales have spiked when both  higher spec versions were introduced.“The TT has been a strong seller from the first day, the TT S on top of that was extremely well received, and the TT RS moved quickly – and for those who want a little more the TT RS Plus goes one step further,” Burgdorf says. “It is something that would be great to have in the range, but we want to make sure there is a market here for the car.“We may see it by the end of the year, but to say that at this stage would just be speculation – and so would any discussion of price. The current pricing of the TT RS is just shy of $140,000 and at the top end the TT RS Plus would be fairly loaded with spec, but our goal is to bring in the best value package we possibly can.”

But even if not a sure thing, you wouldn’t bet big against it.  Within days of the traumatic three-car incident that smashed both a fair amount of the screaming Mazda RX-8 SP competing in this year’s rally – and any hopes of the car finishing  –  Mazda Motorsport’s formidable boss, Allan Horsley, had begun to think not of what might have been (that would be challenging the eventual winning Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo Strada), but what will be…In the wake of that trauma, Horsley’s team directed its full focus into Mazda’s second entry, the Mazda3 MPS driven by Brendan Reeves and navigated by his sister Rhianon Smyth. In this they achieved second in the Showroom class and a little less than astonishing ninth overall. Not only was it the fastest front-wheel-drive, it licked Porsches, Evos, WRXs and an Audi TT-RS.No mean feat over five days, 40 stages and 2000km of competitive driving in often appallingly, all too Tasmanian autumn conditions piloting what one of the crew wryly described as a “turbo, front drive shopping trolley”.“For those people who think that a two-wheel drive can’t perform in the wet, just look at Brendan and Rhianon’s result,” said Horsley, a figure of local motor racing legend, who has never been constrained by convention. “With the best car, the best crew and the best team behind them – anything is possible.”The “best car” in the entire Targa, Mazda would argue, was not the weepingly expensive Lambo, though this was the one that captured not only the Targa title, but the hearts and minds of the spectating public.   Going into the third day, the Mazda team confidence that this Targa could be theirs was evident.This Horsley special RX-8’s bantam 1280kg and forced induction rotary engine imbued it with lynx-like agility through Tasmania’s endless twisties into which it was able to brake, according to driver Steve Glenney, some 100 metres later than certain rivals.When the going got straight, however, it couldn’t hope to match the kilometre-crushing Lambo. Already, though, Horsley is onto solutions to extract more in 2011.That engine – or at least its essential ingredients – will be housed in a newly-built RX-8 SP after an incident 11.6km into the Mount Roland leg that made one of the Targa’s most spectacular stages memorable for all the wrong reasons. But for the razor reflexes of Glenney, it might have also have been the site of a tragedy.Pouring into the first bend of a double apex right hander near the peak of the mount – not too far from where Eric Bana memorably came to grief a few years back – Launceston’s Simon Froude struck oil on the road and speared his Porsche 911 into the “cheese grater” steel cable that stands between competitors and likely oblivion in the form of an almost sheer drop.With the Porsche snagged by the front axle, its nose pointed towards the heavens, the crew of the next car through – David Ayers and Robbie Bolton in their Nismo 400R – halted as per race regulations and rushed to their aid.Then Glenney, with navigator Bernie Webb, poured through at perhaps 160km/h. With a split second to react, Glenney flung the car about and went into back of the Nismo, left three quarters first – a brilliant manoeuvre that surely saved himself and Webb from disaster. But not the RX-8 SP.“It was running beautifully,’’ Webb lamented as we waited for the flatbed to retrieve the shattered Mazda from the mountain road that now seemed even wetter and colder. “We’d had issues, but we’d overcome them. We’re out through no fault of our own.”By race’s end on Sunday afternoon, the Mazda crew, though ebullient over the MPS, knew they’d be back in 2011 to take care of what they clearly regard as unfinished business.Besides, what matters the 19th event when you can win the 20th and bequeath to the buying public an RX-8 SP 20th Targa (very) special edition?  You wouldn’t bet against it.In the meantime, we drivers of keenness, but infinitely less ability, can approximate in street legal form the Mazda Targa experience without access to car manufacturer’s racing budget.Every inch a rival for Volkswagen’s award-winning Golf GTI, the Mazda3 MPS starts from similar money - $38,435 – and packs an output that towers over the VW’s: the Japanese entrant rings 190kW and 380Nm from its turbo-charged four potter, over the German’s 155kW/280Nm.The RX-8, meanwhile, remains the world’s only mass –produced rotary engined car. While the version available to you and I comes without the Motorsport’s turbo-charger, but it does rev past 8000rpm and, from $55,715 (though you really want the $57,778 GT), seems unbelievably reasonable for something unique.

The sporty Audi TT gets a modest makeover but like the revised Q7 off-roader, the big news is under the bonnet. New engines have improved fuel economy and lowered emissions.The TT's 2.0-litre TSI engine receives a 8kW power boost to produce 157kW while torque is up 70Nm to 350Nm compared to the current engine. Despite the power lift fuel economy has gone from 7.7L/100km to 6.6L/100km for the six-speed manual. The six-speed manual TT hits 100km/h in 6.1 seconds and has a top speed of 245km/h.In the TT, the most obvious visual additions are 12 white LED daytime running lights on the lower edge of the headlights, new 17-inch alloys and lattice-look of the grille. At the back there is a larger diffuser set into the bumper and redesigned tail-lights.The Q7 gets new forced induction and direct injection V6 petrol and TDI engines and an eight-speed automatic gearbox across the range, except for the V12 TDIIn Europe, the new 3.0 TFSI V6 petrol is supercharged for better efficiency and available in two states of tune as part of Audi's engine downsizing strategy. It replaces the 3.6 FSI engine.Audi Australia spokesperson, Nadine Giusti, says both engines are under consideration for Australia. "However, we are still working through how they will fit into the line-up," she says.The milder tune 3.0 TFSI develops 200kW/400Nm. It accelerates to 100km/h in 7.9 seconds and has a top speed of 222km/h. A more powerful version delivers 245kW/440Nm and is a second quicker to 100km/h with a top speed of 245km/h. Both off-roaders are reasonably frugal, delivering 10.7L/100km.Compared with the current 3.6 FSI and the 4.2 FSI engines fuel consumption has been reduced by 1.4 and 2.0 l/100 km respectively, a 12 per cent and 16 per cent improvement. The Q7 also gets a new second-generation 3.0-litre TDI V6 that is 20kg lighter and more fuel efficient than the current 3.0 TDI. Audi has achieved the gains by reducing internal friction, fitting a new turbocharger and improved common rail injection system. A new stop-start system switches off the engine at a standstill, further saving fuel.The 3.0-litre TDI delivers 176kW/550Nm, hits 100km/h in 7.9 seconds with a top speed of 215km/h. Fuel consumption is 7.4L/100km, 1.7L/100km better than the old engine. Consumption has been cut in the 4.2 TDI too, from 9.9L/100km to 9.2L/100km. Power remains at 250kW but torque is up 40Nm to 800Nm.Both the TT and Q7 arrives in local showrooms around Christmas.

It was the first in a very long time, and the first I can remember when I was not doing something silly like driving down a rutted forest track making pacenotes for a rally.  This time I was driving an Audi TT RS and there was no warning. No pop, no bang, nothing nasty on the road, but when I got home the left- rear tyre looked a little unhappy.Less than 30 minute later the rim was down to the road and I knew I had a problem.  At this point, having paid more than $130,000 for their hot new German coupe, the vast majority of TT RS buyers would pull out their iPhone and call the Audi emergency number.But I resist the temptation and decide to investigate the brave new world of 21st century tyre changing.  Except there is no way to change a tyre on a TT RS. It doesn't even have a jack.Instead, it has a compressor you plug into what was the cigarette lighter - now called the power socket - and a can of pump-in tyre sealant goo. But there is a wheelbrace.Since this is an experiment, I borrow a jack from another car and remove the wheel to check the puncture, discovering a nine-millimetre cut through the tread.  I'm not optimistic - I can still remember a nasty motorcycle flat and a can of useless goo in the 1980s - but I hook up the repair kit and pump away. And the tyre inflates and the rush of air from the slash slows to a dribble . . .It's a good effort and I'm impressed. The tyre holds on the run back to the Audi dealer for a replacement.  I'm still not entirely happy, and I would prefer a spare in any car, but the pump-up repair seems like a reasonable system and it means you don't have to suffer the harsh ride of far too many runflat tyres.Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

Back in 1999, the only diesel-powered vehicles on the Australian market were sports utility vehicles, light commercials and trucks.