Up close: All-new Audi TT

Being assigned the task of reinventing an icon can sometimes seem equivalent to being handed a poisoned chalice. Imagine being the bloke lumped with conjuring up a Mk2 version of the Mona Lisa. Or the Taj Mahal.

This, albeit to a lesser extent, was the conundrum faced by the design team at Audi when coming up with its third-generation TT (an acronym that stands for Tourist Trophy), which has garnered a mixed response from armchair pundits since images of the car were released in conjunction with its recent Geneva motor show unveiling.

The newbie has big wheel tracks to fill, as the original TT that launched in 1998 was a genuinely path-breaking design with its high-shouldered flanks, geometric sculpting and chop-top roofline. The second-gen car that arrived in 2006 was also a skilful piece of styling, successfully capturing the essence of its predecessor, while still being discernibly different and contemporary.

So, the pressure was on with the third-generation car, which now stands in front of me as it’s the focus of a TT workshop I’m attending at the Audi Museum in Ingolstadt. My first thoughts are that the newcomer looks much better in the metal than it does in the press pics. Underpinned by the VW Group’s highly flexible MQB platform, the new TT is claimed to be lighter, faster and more frugal than the outgoing model, but for now I’m merely taking in the revamped visuals.

Senior exterior designer Jurgen Loffler walks me around the car and points out some of the key design elements, saying the objective was to add dynamism and athleticism, but he stops short of using the word aggression. “We didn’t want to go for a bodybuilder look. Think more of Usain Bolt in the starting blocks,” he explains.

“We wanted to bring in all the TT genetics from the first generation… all the visual architecture,” Loffler says. “For example, you have this body, and on the body you have a greenhouse sitting on it. You see the break between the lower body and A-pillar and C-pillar, so it’s literally like an add-on greenhouse. It’s the same for the wheelhouses – they’re also like an add-on to the body.

“The three-box design is also something we wanted to carry forward from the first-generation TT, but we wanted to go in a more sporty direction. So, for example, just as the R8 sits really low and has the Audi rings on the bonnet (as opposed to the grille), we’ve done the same with the new TT. The bonnet is really low and the surfaces around the single-frame grille have a more three-dimensional feeling, as you can see.

“Another important element is the vertical LED lights inside the headlight cluster. These are similar to the vertically stacked lights in the R18 Le Mans car. So, we have incorporated elements from both the R8 and R18 in the new TT, which gives helps give it sporty character, without losing the genes from the first generation.”

However, the real USP of the LED Matrix headlights (it’s allegedly the first time these have been offered in the sports car segment) is that they direct their beam away from oncoming traffic, enabling the driver to keep the high beam permanently engaged. This obviously makes for safer night-time driving, especially as their cornering function links up with the sat-nav to illuminate the road around bends.

Although the new TT is 20mm shorter and 8mm narrower than the previous model, it actually looks lower and wider than before. This is largely due to the lower bonnet, lengthened roofline and stretched (by 37mm) wheelbase, which pushes the wheels closer to the front and rear extremities of the car.

An added benefit of the longer wheelbase is that it has liberated extra cabin space. That said, the rear seats are still best left to dwarves and amputees, as I’m no giant at 1.72m yet my head is plastered against the rear windscreen and knees mashed by the front seatback when I squeeze my frame into the rear quarters.

But, the TT obviously isn’t a back-seat car. It’s meant for driving, and on this score the news seems pretty much all good. For starters, the third-gen TT weighs just 1230kg in base form – that’s 50kg less than its predecessor (which itself was 90kg lighter than the first-generation model). The weight-loss program is partly down to the efficient new MQB architecture (which boosts torsional rigidity by 25 per cent), along with the use of aluminium to fabricate the doors, bonnet, wings, roof and tailgate.

The centre of gravity is also 10mm lower than before and the weight is more evenly distributed over the front and rear axles, so the claim is that the third-gen TT is more agile and better balanced than its predecessor. In addition, the new fifth-generation Haldex quattro all-wheel-drive system is more rear-biased and can now send 100 per cent of torque in either direction. Also new is a ‘brake steer’ system of sorts that brakes the inside wheels to quell understeer under heavy cornering loads.

There’s more good news from the engine room, as the base-model TT scores an EA888 2.0-litre turbo engine that ekes out 169kW and 370Nm, channeled to the front wheels via a six-speed S tronic dual clutch gearbox. It sprints to 100km/h in 5.3 seconds and hits an electronically governed 250km/h, so it’s clearly no slouch. The TTS gets an even hotter 228kW/380Nm version of the same motor, enabling it to bolt to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds, which almost puts it on par with the significantly pricier Porsche Cayman S.

The new TT’s interior will be familiar to anyone who’s spent time in the outgoing model, but the key highlights are a new virtual dash display (‘virtual cockpit’ in Audi speak) that can be configured in a multitude of ways to present the info you choose to prioritise. For example, in the ‘classic view’, the speedometer and rev counter are in the foreground; in ‘infotainment’ mode the virtual instruments are smaller. The space that becomes free as a result provides ample room for other functions, such as the navigation map.

Loffler says the aim is to put all the information in the driver’s line of sight, eliminating the need for them to take their eyes off the road. Another cool feature is the way in which the controls for temperature and fan speed have been incorporated within the turbine-shaped vents themselves. All these measures have helped reduce clutter on the centre console, making for a cleaner, more minimalist cabin.

In terms of the TT’s customising potential, there’s the S-Line trim package, which adds bespoke front and rear bumpers and rockers, along with unique wheels (the available selection of rims for the TT range from 17 to 20 inches in diameter). The range-topping TTS stands further apart from the base model via its quartet of exhausts, unique rear diffuser, aluminium mirrors and different inlays in the front grille and rockers.

The bad news for now is that we’ll have to wait several months before sampling the car for ourselves to glean whether the style and hype is backed up by substance. You’ll have to wait even longer (early 2015) before being able see the car here.

It goes without saying that a roadster derivative of the TT will follow in due course, but Loffler plays his cards close to his chest when asked if other variants – such as a shooting brake – are on the agenda. “The shooting brake is a concept we showed at Detroit and it was really well accepted,” he says. “For me, such a variant makes sense, but we will have to wait and see.”