RE: New Audi TT RS revealed
Discussion
Performance is absolutely bonkers. 3.7 secs is ridiculous!This takes things to the next level, especially for the 50 odd K starting price.
I definitely understand the allure of a stupidly fast, point to point, all weather car, especially with the weather here in the UK.
Heavy rain...no problem.
Having said that, if it
1) wasn't a 2 seater
2) my wife wouldnt give me stick for buying a "girls" car
.....I might have seriously considered it.
The steering is likely to be dead of feeling and lack of driver engagement is exactly why i would rather something rear wheel drive.
I definitely understand the allure of a stupidly fast, point to point, all weather car, especially with the weather here in the UK.
Heavy rain...no problem.
Having said that, if it
1) wasn't a 2 seater
2) my wife wouldnt give me stick for buying a "girls" car
.....I might have seriously considered it.
The steering is likely to be dead of feeling and lack of driver engagement is exactly why i would rather something rear wheel drive.
ORD said:
I cannot get my head around the obsession with AWD for 'all weather' usage. Am I the world's best driver? I drive RWD cars in heavy rain and have never once felt any need to have drive to the front wheels. It always sounds like journalistic nonsense to me.
I think if you actually want to drive fast in conditions where grip is highly erratic it helps a bit; but one could argue that driving fast in conditions where grip is erratic is a bit idiotic anyway. I'll stick to RWD too.
kambites said:
ORD said:
I cannot get my head around the obsession with AWD for 'all weather' usage. Am I the world's best driver? I drive RWD cars in heavy rain and have never once felt any need to have drive to the front wheels. It always sounds like journalistic nonsense to me.
I think if you actually want to drive fast in conditions where grip is highly erratic it helps a bit; but one could argue that driving fast in conditions where grip is erratic is a bit idiotic anyway. I'll stick to RWD too.
As for traction, isnt that only a problem at lowish speeds and/or if your engine is in the wrong place for a powerful RWD car (i.e. the front). In seriousness, traction is more the issue, I would agree.
I agree about speeds in bad weather. Stopping distance and visibility should be holding you back a lot more than traction.
ORD said:
Grip or traction? My cars all have All Wheel Grip as standard
Both if the car torque vectors (which I assume the TT does?) although obviously you don't get significantly better braking performance. I tend to find that more grip (and especially more traction) makes cars less fun though. Some people prefer a situation where they never approach the limits of the car.
Edited by kambites on Monday 25th April 18:39
StottyEvo said:
If it can turn corners, and that's one hell of a big IF
I may be interested
If it turns corners anywhere like the old one it will be immense. And if a simple remap can give it R8 performance with hatchback practicality it will be immense.I may be interested
The TT-RS must be the most underrated piece of incredible engineering. Yes, it looks little different from the cooking TT (some may see that as a positive), and yes, it might not be massively involving. No different on those fronts to a 911 T. And equally like the 911T, usable daily with staggering performance. It really is a pretty incredible bit of kit for not a lot of outlay. Folk praise the GTR for giving exploitable performance in a usable package and yet the TT-RS somehow seems to be binned off as an understeering average TT. Little tweak with an ARB and a remap and go play.
ORD said:
I am not sure I really understand the market for this car.
(1) Utterly pointlessly fast. It wont attract anyone but people who like fast cars.
(2) People who like fast cars would normally like a car that is fun to drive. This is an AWD turbo car with a heavy engine hanging out over the front wheels, numb steering and a tendency to understeer at all speeds (I would expect).
(3) It has a very girly image, so wont attract the kind of poser that normally buys fast but dull cars (i.e. other fast Audis).
It's fast, for those who like to be seen in fast (and expensive looking) cars. (1) Utterly pointlessly fast. It wont attract anyone but people who like fast cars.
(2) People who like fast cars would normally like a car that is fun to drive. This is an AWD turbo car with a heavy engine hanging out over the front wheels, numb steering and a tendency to understeer at all speeds (I would expect).
(3) It has a very girly image, so wont attract the kind of poser that normally buys fast but dull cars (i.e. other fast Audis).
Most people buying one probably wouldn't think the engine belongs anywhere else. If it's fast enough for the TLGP and can catch up to within 3 inches of the back of the car in front they're having fun. Many people seem to think grip=good handling/AWD=grip, turbo=always faster/must be better, light, numb steering=great around town/parking, and understeer=safer than oversteer.
Yes the TT has always appeared a bit girly, but tarty, vaguely sporty looking cars do sell in huge numbers to men and women. It's got enough glitzy LED lights, "get out of my way" bits of styling and a massive German badge. It could utterly rubbish and they'd still sell as many as they can make. Making it stupidly fast is just the icing on the cake.
These cars never seem to have to handle like an Elise to sell big. It's surprising Audi bother to make them as good as they do (and they are very, very good at what they're built for) since they could be utter pups and they'd still sell. I know if I had £50k+ to spend on a brand new "sports" car a TT would be quite far down my list of possible choices, but I can definitely see how they sell so many of them. A lot of what makes a car "fun" is deeply subjective and many won't push past 2/10ths of what a car like this can really do.
They aren't really aimed at enthusiasts who like to get up at 4am on a Sunday to blast along empty, winding B-roads. Some will inevitably be bought by driving enthusiasts and I really don't think they'll be disappointed as it'll no doubt be a brilliant machine, but I don't think it's really marketed at them.
Edited by Timfy on Monday 25th April 19:47
IndyH said:
Performance is absolutely bonkers. 3.7 secs is ridiculous!This takes things to the next level, especially for the 50 odd K starting price.
I definitely understand the allure of a stupidly fast, point to point, all weather car, especially with the weather here in the UK.
Heavy rain...no problem.
Having said that, if it
1) wasn't a 2 seater
2) my wife wouldnt give me stick for buying a "girls" car
.....I might have seriously considered it.
The steering is likely to be dead of feeling and lack of driver engagement is exactly why i would rather something rear wheel drive.
In answer to your point 2 that is why you buy one for the wife I definitely understand the allure of a stupidly fast, point to point, all weather car, especially with the weather here in the UK.
Heavy rain...no problem.
Having said that, if it
1) wasn't a 2 seater
2) my wife wouldnt give me stick for buying a "girls" car
.....I might have seriously considered it.
The steering is likely to be dead of feeling and lack of driver engagement is exactly why i would rather something rear wheel drive.
the two rear seats are handy for her handbag though.AH33 said:
Those new wheels are bleurgh. Any pics with the 18s?
Overall, decent. Im not a big fan of the new TT anyway, but it wears the RS stuff well. Definitely better looking than the new R8 imo.
Thought the wheels where not to bad, not sure what size they are but it said only 19" or 20" rims available probably about a dozen different options to take a bit more out of your pocket if you do not like the standard fitment.Overall, decent. Im not a big fan of the new TT anyway, but it wears the RS stuff well. Definitely better looking than the new R8 imo.
ORD said:
I cannot get my head around the obsession with AWD for 'all weather' usage. Am I the world's best driver? I drive RWD cars in heavy rain and have never once felt any need to have drive to the front wheels. It always sounds like journalistic nonsense to me.
You must be as when it snows I cannot get out of our estate unless I go and grit the top of our road Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff