Tuesday 4th March 2014

Audi: Geneva 2014

Seemingly responding overnight to TT criticism Audi unleashes a 420hp special

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You have to admire the German style of humour. First Audi lures us into a false sense of apathy with the reveal of the 'all-new' TT. Then, during the lavish and mildly bonkers Volkswagen Group evening on the eve of the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, it promises "treats" in the morning.

Bit predictable we said; response wasn't

But credit where credit's due - the Audi TT Quattro Sport Concept is quite the treat. Remember how people used to label the TT as a hairdresser's car? Not anymore. Within seconds of Audi revealing the show car, the TT shook off its soft image and revealed its hardcore side.

The snappily named Audi TT Quattro Sport Concept has 210hp per litre, which is a figure more suited to an Audi Le Mans car. Audi's wizards have performed miracles, extracting a total of 420 horses from a relatively tame 2.0-litre TFSI engine. Peak torque of 331lb ft is available all the way from 2,400rpm to 6,300rpm.

Insert skin and rice pudding sentence here.

Weighing 1,344kg, the Audi TT Quattro Sport Concept will rocket to 62mph in a distinctly non-hairdresser like 3.7 seconds. Audi hasn't confirmed the top speed, but we suspect it'll be limited to 155mph to stop it from being catapulted into the middle of next week. Audi calls it "an extreme driving machine for the motorsports enthusiasts", and it isn't wrong. The interior will feel quite alien to the typical TT buyer, with almost everything but the essentials stripped away. Which means no speakers or armrests, and the door handles replaced with strips of Alcantara.

Audi enters the hot hatch fray as only it can - Quattro!

There's also a pair of hardcore racing seats, 20-inch alloy wheels, a suitably stiffened suspension set-up and a set of wheel arches extended by 30mm. Aside from the digital infotainment system, we were struggling to get excited about the new TT. But all that has changed.

Otherwise it was business as usual on the Audi stand. Oh, and the small matter of a glorious Audi RS2 and that little tearaway, the Audi S1.

 

 

 

 

 

[leedsutd1]

how much is it? will be expensive

[mikebradford]

Audi and lamborghini blurring the lines in some of the styling touches
the instrument panel , very much seems lamborghini inspired

overall i feel its an evolution of the TT. and will prove no doubt to be popular
will be intresting to drive one and see how it compares

[richs2891]

Not fond of the white, but like the look and idea of 42o bhp from a 2.0 litre.
De tune it a bit - massage the torgue figure to match the bhp, then sell it as a A45 ANG beater ?

[blackchrome917]

That 420 looks great, a few years ago 100bhp per litre was awesome - 210bhp is out of this world.

I've always liked the TT and this one brings a clarity back to the model that was lost in the Mark II.

How long before someone on the forum states they'll chip it to 500?

[g3org3y]

Am I alone in thinking that the design of the original TT will not be bettered.

Audi got it 'just right' imo.

[martin elaman]

Until somebody can get Haldex AWD right for a front engine car - seems they have gotten it right for mid and rear engine cars- then we will continue to see massively powered part-time AWD but mostly FWD hatches like this one that can't get the power to the back wheels in effective way even humble older cars like the Impreza can, m

[strummerville]

Looks hard - bet the suspension is even harder!

[blackchrome917]

I've wanted an S1 quattro since I first saw the A1 at Goodwood a few years ago. This yellow one looks the business.

[hondansx]

Nothing to get excited about really, is it? Same formula, just updated. Power figure will get smiles from the tuning community when it comes to Golfs / S3s with the same engine though.

[SaqibCTR]

210hp per litre? That's cute.

*cough* Evo VIII FQ-400 back in 2004 *cough*

[va1o]

Not amazed by Audi's effort. The S1 looks awesome but why does it have a sodding Manual gearbox, that car is crying out for the S-Tronic. TT looks nice but very subtle changes with some odd design choices.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

g3org3y said:

Am I alone in thinking that the design of the original TT will not be bettered.

Audi got it 'just right' imo.

Agreed. This is fantastic looking, & I honestly hope they build some, but the original will be a bonafide design classic

[Dave Hedgehog]

put the 5 pot in it plz

where do i sign

[cerb4.5lee]

SaqibCTR said:

210hp per litre? That's cute.

*cough* Evo VIII FQ-400 back in 2004 *cough*

It wont need a service every 6 months or 4k to 6k miles like the Evo though which is a bonus, I could never quite understand why my old 200sx needed an oil change every 6 months or 6k miles as well, times have changed.

[SaqibCTR]

cerb4.5lee said:

SaqibCTR said:

210hp per litre? That's cute.

*cough* Evo VIII FQ-400 back in 2004 *cough*

It wont need a service every 6 months or 4k to 6k miles like the Evo though which is a bonus, I could never quite understand why my old 200sx needed an oil change every 6 months or 6k miles as well, times have changed.

True. If that 420hp TT concept was put into production I doubt it'll have the crazy turbo lag and will probably be a much better car to live with. In fact, given the emission regs that would be quite an achievement?

[lamboman100]

The Audi TT shape is starting to look a bit dated. And it will never shake the hairdresser image in the UK, no matter how hard it tries. It needs a major re-styling and re-branding.

[strummerville]

va1o said:

Not amazed by Audi's effort. The S1 looks awesome but why does it have a sodding Manual gearbox, that car is crying out for the S-Tronic. TT looks nice but very subtle changes with some odd design choices.

Maybe because its a driver's car and you might actually want to 'feel' what it's doing rather than just prodding two pedals?

[strummerville]

Shame the 21st century ur quattro ended up swallowing two tons of batteries and became a bloated monstrosity.

[va1o]

strummerville said:

Maybe because its a driver's car and you might actually want to 'feel' what it's doing rather than just prodding two pedals?

Not really, the appeal to me is its a relaxing and comfortable car when you want it to be and a performance hatch when needed. That's why I like my Golf GTI DSG so much. Audi did say it would get the S-Tronic eventually but seems odd they aren't offering it from the start.

[cerb4.5lee]

SaqibCTR said:

cerb4.5lee said:

SaqibCTR said:

210hp per litre? That's cute.

*cough* Evo VIII FQ-400 back in 2004 *cough*

It wont need a service every 6 months or 4k to 6k miles like the Evo though which is a bonus, I could never quite understand why my old 200sx needed an oil change every 6 months or 6k miles as well, times have changed.

True. If that 420hp TT concept was put into production I doubt it'll have the crazy turbo lag and will probably be a much better car to live with. In fact, given the emission regs that would be quite an achievement?

I agree it would be an achievement, I loved the FQ 400 when that came out as it seemed incredible to get that sort of power out of a 2 litre 4 pot & to be fair our TTS only has 268bhp but that still suffers from chronic turbo lag initially but once over that it does pick up alright.