Audi TT RS 2017 Review

Some cars just feel right… Almost from the moment you roll through the first corner. Granted, they are few and far between, but I reckon the Audi TT RS Coupe is one of them.

And this isn’t a compliment I’d proffer for many Audis. Although always confident, the Ingolstadt brand’s cars tend toward competent rather than involving.

Perhaps it’s the DNA the TT RS shares with the grand-daddy of hot hatches that is the difference.

Audi will hate me for saying so, but at its very heart, the TT clan have always shared chassis basics with Volkswagen’s giant-killing Golf GTI.

In third-generation TT form, the link has been stretched to breaking point and all of the Golf’s steel’s is gone (replaced by an all-aluminium body-in-white) but the essentially ‘just right’ nature of the GTI lineage is still one of the building blocks.

In the latest TT family, the TT RS is the flagship, set apart by its new five-cylinder engine.

Claimed to be all-new, the now all-alloy 2.5-litre turbocharged five-cylinder engine is an exciting powerplant.

Exciting in the fact that it harks back to Audi’s legendary quattro rally cars of the early 1980s; exciting for its wonderful offbeat soundtrack; but even more exciting for its output and potential application across other Audi models. Who knows -- perhaps even in longitudinal installation, eventually.

Audi and fives just go together. Shouldn’t the next S5 be a five?

The new engine has the same cylinder firing order as the fabulous Sport quattro S1 rally legend and this contributes to those unique exhaust and intake tunes.

Sport exhausts, standard on the Aussie TT RS, turn up the volume – although Audi’s Drive Select system and a separate exhaust control delivers a quasi-stealth mode. Ideal for early morning getaways…

The engine shares the bore and stroke dimensions of the engine it replaces and is also used in Audi’s RS 3, which is soon to arrive Down Under in sedan form.

The good news, however, is the TT RS’ transverse-mounted mill is 26kg lighter than the Transporter-based engine in the last generation and now develops just shy of 300kW (294kW and 480Nm officially).

Audi says that, overall, the new TT RS (in Coupe form at 1515kg) is up to 35kg lighter than the car it replaces.

The TT RS’ quattro all-wheel drive system can also be ‘tuned’ via Audi drive select system. In Dynamic mode more torque is shuffled to the rear wheels. Indeed, such is the pace and traction of the new TT RS with the new five that insiders say that it has been nobbled to ensure it doesn’t out-accelerate its three-times-dearer R8 supercar stablemate!

Audi claims a 0-100km/h sprint of 3.7sec for the TT RS coupe. The 90kg heavier Roadster – an Aussie first in this generation -- is only 0.2sec slower. Both are savagely limited to 250km/h. The coupe unfettled is at least 30km/h faster.
Hard charger, soft top

As noted above, Audi has launched the latest TT RS Down Under in both hard and soft-top versions for the first time. The Roadster comes at a modest premium over the Coupe, priced from $141,900 compared to $137,900 respectively.

In the case of the coupe, this is actually a price reduction on the outgoing TT RS Plus. Sweetening the deal even further is the fact Audi is claiming the new TT RS pairing features “over $10,000” worth of extra equipment in this new generation.

Lowered (-10mm) Audi Magnetic Ride adaptive sport suspension is standard on both models, as is the marque’s revised (and excellent) seven-speed dual-clutch S tronic transmission.

Completing the quick chassis overview is the rolling hardware. The RS pairing features beefy eight-piston front brake callipers grabbing big 370mm discs which fit inside the standard 20-inch wheels – just! A ceramic front disc option is offered at just shy of $9000.

More aggressive front and rear styling treatments separate the RS variants from their S and cooking-model TT counterparts. There’s a wider single-frame grille, larger outer intakes and at the rear, a fixed rear spoiler (a delete option). TTs have always been an acquired taste. This one looks pukka in the metal, in part thanks to the wider 255/30-section tyres.

Other standard features include lane, blind-spot and headlight systems, excellent heated Nappa leather sports seats and high-spec infotainment and smartphone integration.

Audi’s virtual cockpit (with RS functions such oversize tachometer, shift lights, lap timers, etc), MMI touch and natural language voice-controlled infotainment are also among the features attributed to that extra value equation.

The Roadster adds an electric-operated soft-top (which takes just 10sec to open or close) and neck-level heating to the offering.

Although rain during our launch road drive meant we were unable to open the roof, I can at least vouch for the structural competence of the Roadster. Unlike some of the other Audi soft-tops that appear to be fashioned from case-hardened plasticine (the last RS 5 comes to mind), the open-top TT RS is made of sterner stuff.

The combination of reasonably firm suspension and bumpy B-roads normally spells “Danger, danger, Will Robinson” for open cars but the TT RS Roadster is hard to separate from the Coupe in terms of its carved-from-solid feel. I didn’t notice a shake or shimmy from the mirror – normally the first giveaway.

On the road, the TT RS suspension tune offers enough give on big bumps, but nobody’s going to mistake this car for a limousine. What they will appreciate is the eager turn-in and elevated levels of grip. It’s an easy car to drive fast and enjoy in the real world.
Island magic

Same goes on the circuit – and we’d suggest that more than a few TT RS buyers will be interested in at least the occasional track day.

In the Coupe on the challenging and super-fast environs of the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, the competence and engagement of the TT RS offering is immediately apparent.

There’s not got the ultimate grip you’d expect (which highlights the massive difference between road and track in one fell swoop), but the car’s playful nature and balance is a highlight.

Most of the understeer (push) you’d expect from a car of this type is tuned out by a little bit of throttle and if you get over eager, the car and tyres give you plenty of warning they’re signing off. The stability control is intrusive only if you’re ham-fisted – there’s latitude there to exploit.

Steering feel is better than in Audi’s bigger cars (and dare I say ‘Golf’ again) and the steel brakes are more than up to a decent track fang. You’d have to be the last of the desperate late-brakers to really need or justify the ceramic option.

The gearbox operation is a highlight on track. I like a manual as much as the next Luddite but forget it if you want to go really fast.

It’s very clear that this generation of TT RS has grown up. The traditional TT look remains but there’s an added sophistication. The cabin’s better than ever and in the real world this is a genuinely fast automobile.

But ultimately it’s not the crisp handling, serious performance, generous equipment or even the attractive look of the new TT RS that is its most endearing trait. It’s how it sounds.

Triples, fives and V10s have unique soundtracks and in the new TT that signature is almost worth the price of admission alone.

2017 Audi TT RS Coupe pricing and specifications:
Price: $137,900 plus on-road costs (Roadster $141,900)
Engine: 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 294kW/480Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 8.4L/100km (NEDC Combined)
CO2: 192g/km (NEDC Combined)
Safety rating: TBC