Audi TT gets mid-life facelift

The iconic Audi TT has come in for a facelift and minor mechanical changes for the 2011 model year, and will make its public debut at the Leipzig motor show in Germany on April 9.

Providing the luxury coupe and roadster with a fresh new outlook and a more muscle thanks to a tweaked 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, the updated TT is expected to go on sale in Europe in the second half of 2010.

According to Audi's press statement the new TT models mark the 30th anniversary of quattro, and though the new model will make it's way Down Under, Audi Australia spokesperson Anna Burgdorf told the Carsales Network it was "too early to provide any Australian-specific information on the TT facelift".

Performance pundits will be pleased to hear that the 2.0-litre TFSI turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine now makes use of Audi's Valvelift system, which bumps power to 157kW, an extra 10kW compared to its predecessor. Torque also rises from 280Nm to an impressive 350Nm, and when combined with the S tronic dual clutch auto transmission and quattro all-paw traction the Audi TT 2.0 TFSI accelerates from zero to 100km/h in a rapid-fire 5.6 seconds.

While power has been ramped up in the 2.0-litre model, fuel economy has dropped from 7.7L/100km to 6.6L/100km. The TTS sees no mechanical changes though Audi did make mention of a newly developed version of the S tronic dual clutch gearbox for the TT RS model.

The Audi TT mid-life upgrade will get its global debut at the Leipzig motor show in Germany on April 10.

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